“You’re a vet?” he asked in bewilderment.
I gave him the same reassuring smile I gave to all the owners of my patients. “Yep. Please, come in.”
I could have sworn I heard Alex sigh in relief as I turned on the lights. A second later, Chester and Milo began barking from their kennels in the adjoining room, excited someone was here after hours. Our shoes squeaked against the linoleum, and Roxy’s whimpers were loud enough to echo in the empty corridor.
As I gestured them into the nearest exam room, I took a minute to discretely take in their appearance. Not only were they drenched, but Alex’s pants and shoes were caked in mud. Even with a thicker rain jacket, Alex was still trembling from the cold. I wondered if his clothes underneath were just as wet as his jacket.Probably,I thought, grimacing in sympathy.
“Head into this room right here,” I instructed. “I’ll just be a minute.”
It was hard to ignore Roxy’s cries as I made my way down the hall. But before stopping in my office to grab my stethoscope, I headed to the supply closet where I pulled two soft fleece blankets from the shelf. Bless Melanie and her obsessive nesting lately; otherwise laundry wouldn’t have been done until Tuesday.
With blankets and supplies in hand, I sprinted back to the room, surprised to find Alex sitting on the floor instead of the chair. He had laid Roxy over the heating vent and had snagged a few handfuls of paper towels from the dispenser, which he used to gently dry her off. Meanwhile, he seemed oblivious to his own bitter chill or the puddle slowly pooling on the floor.
“Here,” I said, handing him one of the blankets. Alex barely took his eyes off the small pug as he accepted it and wrapped it around Roxy, I knelt on the floor beside them, my hand outstretched in front of the dog out of habit, but the poor thing was in too much pain to even notice.
“The other blanket is for you,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the dog.
Alex hesitated but eventually pulled it around his shoulders. “Th-thank you.”
“Where is she hurt?”
Alex pointed to the lower part of her rear left leg. At first glance, it didn’t appear to be broken, but experience told me I’d need an X-ray to be sure. I carefully felt around her ribcage and shoulder in search of more injuries, making mental notes of her breathing habits and pulse. The entire time, Alex’s strong, slender hand stayed near Roxy’s head, gently stroking her ear with his thumb.
“Was it a hard hit?” I asked.
“No. They just clipped her and took off. She was trying to get back to me. Went to pee and…” His face crumpled with guilt, and he looked away.
I used my stethoscope to listen to her heart, lungs, and stomach. Everything sounded exactly as it should other than an elevated heart rate, but that was probably due to stress more than anything.
“I want to do a few X-rays and an ultrasound,” I said, “just to be sure there aren’t any internal injuries, but from the looks of it, her leg is the worst of it. She’ll probably have some bruising as well. But overall, she’s very lucky.”
The news should have relieved the poor guy, but instead, he let his head fall back against the wall in anguish.
“God. Roxy. I’m so sorry, girl,” he said.
As if hearing her owner’s cries, the pug shifted painfully on the blanket until her nose bumped his knee.
“She’s likely going to fall into a state of shock, so we need to keep an eye on her. I’ll give her some meds to help with the pain, but right now, the most important thing is to keep her calm and immobile.”
I wasn’t sure Alex heard me until he nodded once, brushing the back of his hand across his scruffy face. The tears left a trail of dirt and grime, which made him look even more pitiful. I was tempted to reach out and offer some form of physical comfort, but I couldn’t read his body language enough to know if it would be accepted.
“I’m going to help her,” I said in a calm, reassuring voice, but it had the absolute reverse effect.
“I can’t p-pay…” He choked on his words. “Just… get rid of her pain, please. Take it away.”
With a jolt of horror, I realized Alex was asking me to put Roxy down simply because he couldn’t afford her care. Not only would I refuse to do that because I’d taken a vow, but Roxy was nowhere near that level of trauma. Her injuries were not in any way life-threatening.
Desperate to get through to him, I gripped Alex’s arm hard enough to get his attention. “Roxy is going to be okay. Alex, you hear me? I’m going to take care of her.”
“I can’t pay you!” he pleaded again.
“I know. We can talk about that later. Just let me take care of her for now. Please.”
I let go of his arm and reached for the dog, expecting him to fight me, but he didn’t. In fact, he seemed to completely shut down, dropping his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. As I lifted her in my arms, the pug wrestled in protest and let out a long, painful cry, fully aware she was leaving her owner.
“Shh, Roxy, it’s okay,” I reassured her. "We’re going to make it all better.” Then to Alex, I said, “Just stay here and get warm. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
As I left the room, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be there when I returned.
