“Good luck,” Jude says.
I walk toward the outer door and then stop and look at him. “Thanks.”
He nods and turns away, and I head outside.
Outside, it’s fairly busy, with a few clients arriving at the clinic, a van parking to make a delivery, some visitors walking slowly with Leon as he tells them about the Ark, and then I see Dane Harper opening the back doors of the ambulance. I wander over with Queenie, letting her sniff around on the grass verge, and smile as Dane takes out a small dog and closes the door.
“You been playing Superman, swooping in to save the day?” I joke.
“Yeah, my tights and cape are in the van.” He grins. His short brown hair is spiky on top and sticks up at the front. He’s wearing one of the navy polo tops of the Animal Welfare Team and cargo shorts. “Poor little dude’s been living on his own in a shed with the horses.” The dog trembles in his arms.
“Aw…” I sigh at the thought of how some people dare to treat animals. “Is he a Beagle? He has very long ears.”
“I think he’s probably a Bagel.”
I chuckle. “What’s that?”
“A Basset Hound/Beagle cross.”
“You made that up.”
“Maybe. He’s super cute but a bit traumatized.” Dane scratches the dog’s ear. “We’ll get him sorted out.” He looks at Queenie. “You picked up the Spoodle? She’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, she’s going to be working with me as a therapy dog.”
“Oh, terrific. She’ll be great.”
“I hope so. Hey, has anyone spoken to you about PAWS?”
“Yeah, I love the sound of the animal-assisted therapy.”
“No, I mean personally, about working there.”
His eyebrows rise. “No. Why?”
“It’s just an idea, no worries at all if you’re not interested… but I’m starting to put together a team, and I wondered if you’d consider joining us.”
He stares at me, and I can see his brain working furiously. “Oh… in what role?”
“Well, we don’t have a vet yet. I wasn’t sure if we’d need one, as we’ll have close contact with the Ark, but the more I think about it, it would be useful to have one at the center to keep an eye on the animals’ health, and we think you’d be perfect. Also… eventually we’re thinking about starting up an Outreach Program—we thought about having a Healing PAWS bus. You know, taking the animals to schools, rural places, retirement villages, that sort of thing. I thought it might be something you’d be interested in coordinating.”
“Wow. I’m very flattered that you thought of me.”
“Hey, I’m not kidding, you’d be a catch for us.”
He glances at the Ark. “I don’t know how they’d feel about me going…”
“No need to worry about that. I’ve spoken to Noah, Leon, and Stefan about staffing, and it looks as if there’s going to be a lot of movement between the two centers. It’ll be a couple of months before we’re fully up and running, and it’s possible that you might want to keep your hand in here, maybe working a few days at PAWS, and a few at the Ark? Don’t know, but anyway, think about it, and if you’d like to come and have a look around and talk about it further, you’re very welcome to call me.” I take a business card out of my pocket and hand it to him.
“I will.” He looks at it. “Thank you.”
“Tyr Donovan is coming tomorrow afternoon for a look around,” I add. “If you want to join him, he’ll be there around two p.m.”
“I might just do that. Thanks, Archer.”
“No worries. I’m taking Little Miss Queenie here home now, so have a great afternoon.”
“Yeah, you too.”
