For a big biker guy, he seemed to be melting over a tiny puppy, but before he could get his snuggles on, we had to make sure she was okay.
She was small, shivering a little without his warm hands around her, and her eyes kept finding him, like she was afraid he’d leave her with me. Yeah, that little sweetheart is attached already.
“Okay, she’s a little small and thin, but I can’t find any injuries, or wounds, and she’s bright eyed, alert, and showing no signs of illness. I’d say for the moment we need to be safe, so take her home tonight, I’ll show you what food she needs, and talk you through a schedule for her. Bring her back in a day or so, and we’ll see how she’s doing. There’s no way of knowing her age for sure, but she seems to be beyond the point of needing her mama’s milk, or close to it. Our only option is to combo both to see what’s working for her.”
“Wait, what? How the fuck do I do that?”
“I said I’ll show you. You’re going to have to get better at listening, Rocket. I don’t have all day. We’re already closed.”
He briefly looked like a spanked puppy, then put his focus back on the little one.
“I can really take her home? I mean, it’s the clubhouse, but it’s enclosed and she’ll be in my room.”
“She’s going to need a lot of care, Rocket. Have you even had a dog before?”
He shrugged, cupping his new best friend in his hands and practically melting all over the exam table.
“When I was a kid, but she’s so much tinier. She’s small enough to fit in my helmet.”
I rolled my eyes, updating the record I’d created for her, and grabbing some leaflets for him.
“Look, we’ll have to assume she’s had no vaccinations because she was being dumped, so let’s get her settled the next few days, then we can start on those. Knowing how she eats will give me a better idea of her age, because if she rejects solids, and only wants milk, then we’ll know she’s not yet fully weaned.”
“The fuck does that mean?”
Dear lord. It probably wasn’t even safe to leave her in his care. He seemed completely clueless.
“Are you just going to be a typical useless man, and fuck this up? Because I’m not sending her home with you if you can’t follow basic instructions!”
Rocket practically recoiled, a bemused look on his face.
“Jesus. Sorry I haven’t heard the fucking term ‘weaned’ before. It doesn’t mean I’m an idiot, and I know some guy fucked you over, but I’m not him, yeah? Wind it in, will you?”
Huh. His outburst silenced me, because I realised I was being less than friendly right now, and it had everything to do with the fact that he was a man, it was hometime, and I was tired. Still, the little ball of fur now residing comfortably against his chest was our priority.
“Sorry. Okay, so I’m going to sort out what food and things you’ll need. You’d need other stuff too, a bed, dishes, etc, but honestly, you’ll get those cheaper elsewhere. This stuff is pretty overpriced in my opinion.”
Rocket grimaced, and followed my gesture to head back out into the waiting room.
“Are you supposed to be down-selling your shit to me? Like, isn’t it your job to make me believe I need all this overpriced stuff?”
Again, he wasn’t wrong, but I shook my head.
“Honestly, I didn’t do things this way at my practice, but this isn’t mine, so… ugh,” I took a deep breath, “let’s just get you the essentials, and I can suggest some places for the rest. For tonight, she’ll probably sleep best in your bed with you. Just don’t let her fall off it.”
He snorted. “Well, at least I won’t be alone in bed for once. That’ll be nice, won’t it, little one? I should name her. What the fuck do you call little girl dogs?”
I found myself smiling at his lack of comfort with something so simple for so many, but if he’d never had female dogs, or pets, maybe it was that weird for him.
“That costs extra,” I said lightly, grabbing some of the puppy mix and milk substitute, and a set of puppy dishes.
“Great. I’ll just google that later. Okay, is that everything?”
“It’ll keep you going overnight, yeah. How are you getting her home?”
Confusion returned to his eyes. “On my ride, of course, how else?”
I slammed his purchases into a bag and shoved it at him.
