“Come on, Bear,” Harlow said, picking up the dog’s leash and crossing the street with the Sheltie by her side. As she got closer, the noises coming from the dog intensified.
“Hey there. Is everything all right?” Harlow asked the attractive woman with the short bob.
“Honestly, we’re not entirely sure,” the woman said with a frown.
“We found him behind the trash bin,” the boy said, pointing at a spot nearby. “He doesn’t have a collar or a name tag.”
“You’re the new vet, aren’t you?” the woman asked, smiling. “I’ve seen you around town a few times. I should have introduced myself.”
“Yes, I’m Harlow Jones. No worries about not introducing yourself earlier. We were bound to meet sooner or later in a town this small,” she said with a laugh, getting a good feeling from the lady. Friendly faces were in abundance in this small New England town. Thankfully, it offset the whispers about her.
“Nice to meet you, Harlow. I’m Mimi West and this is my grandson, Jimmy.”
Jimmy looked away from the dog and nodded his head at her. He was a sweet-looking boy with a nice smile. The way he was holding the pup was filled with care and tenderness.
Mimi West. Dante’s mother and Lucy’s mother-in-law. Her friend had spoken about what a warm and wonderful presence Mimi was in her life. Considering her son was a world-famous movie star, Harlow was impressed by her low-key vibe.
Harlow leaned over so she could get a better look at the canine. “Do you mind if I hold her? I want to quickly check things out,” Harlow said.
“Go ahead,” Mimi said. “We just happened to be walking by when we heard her whimpering.” Harlow instructed Bear to lie down before she lifted the dog off Jimmy’s lap. She began examining the dog—a small female poodle—quickly finding a gash in her side.
“Oh, I see why you’re crying sweet girl. This must hurt something awful,” Harlow crooned, lightly pressing the surrounding area to see how deep the wound was.
“Sorry,” Mimi said apologetically. “We didn’t even notice the cut.” She made a tutting sound and put her hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Poor little thing.”
“You probably didn’t notice because of her thick fur and the fact that it’s really not oozing a lot of blood. Don’t beat yourselves up about it. By finding her when you did, your actions saved her life.”
Jimmy’s worried expression eased up a bit.
The tooting of a horn drew their attention to the road. Nick was driving by and he slowed down to ask, “Is everything okay?”
Such was life in small towns. Mistletoe was such a small community, it was no great surprise that Nick would be in the vicinity.
Harlow beckoned him over and he quickly parked his vehicle and jogged over.
“We have a hurt dog on our hands,” Harlow explained. “Mimi and Jimmy rescued her. She has a pretty deep laceration that needs attention.”
“Any idea who he belongs to?” Nick asked, reaching out and patting the poodle on the temple. “Looks like there are no tags.”
“He’s a she,” Harlow said, making a face at Nick.
“Noted,” Nick said with smirk. “Does she have any identification?”
“There are no tags at all,” Mimi confirmed. “And I’ve been racking my brain trying to recall if I’ve ever seen this poodle before, but I honestly don’t think I recognize her.”
“What’s going to happen to her if we can’t find her owners?” Jimmy asked, a look of worry stamped on his face. From what Harlow had observed, Jimmy was a compassionate kid who couldn’t just carry on with his life without knowing the poodle’s fate.
“Well, first I’m going to take her over to Paws and patch her up. She needs wound care and maybe a dose of antibiotics. Stitches for sure,” Harlow explained. “We’ll do our best to find her owners.” Harlow meant what she’d just said about locating the poodle’s family, but she had a funny feeling someone might have abandoned the dog. There was absolutely no sign that anyone was looking for the dog. Most owners would be frantically searching if a small dog had gotten lost in a downtown area. She might be wrong about the situation, but Harlow had seen this before in her Seattle practice.
“I can help,” Jimmy volunteered. “I’m going to ask my mom and Troy if I can take her home with us if she’s up for adoption.”
“Slow down there, buddy,” Mimi said, her eyes widening. “I’m not sure if your parents will agree with that plan. And whatever you do, please don’t say I encouraged you.”
Nick let out a bark of laughter that earned him a scowl from Mimi. “I’m not kidding. Noelle and Troy plan on having more kids one day, and I don’t want to be the grandma who gave them a dog they didn’t want.”
“But Grandma, everyone will grow to love her,” Jimmy said in a pleading tone. Harlow could barely look at him without melting. Who could resist that gorgeous little face? She sensed he could really pile it on when he wanted to in order to get his way.
Good for him!She imagined life wasn’t easy for him being in a wheelchair, but he seemed to be well-adjusted.
