Tonight would be the final test. A perfect night of distractions. Gretchen stirred her batch of special cookies, sure to tempt the town’s children who were gathering on the dock. Shadow balanced on his hind legs with his great, black paws on the cabin windowsill as he sniffed at the darkening dusk. Gretchen had promised Shadow a child, and tonight held their opportunity.
Another dog would have been agitated into pacing by the escalating commotion outside the boat and the aromas wafting from the kitchenette, but Shadow was still. He was trained to focus.
Even so, many things could go wrong. One inappropriate bark, a disturbing stare, or a rumble in his throat, and their work over these many months would be for naught.
A high-pitched whistle spiraled long in the night. Gretchen stopped to watch Shadow’s response. He had one eye on her and one eye on the crowd, and his ears were perked. He knew something was about to happen, but not what.
Then–BOOM! The sky exploded, and the trees on shore lit in a flash of red and blue and silver and gold. The leaves fluttered and the sky went dark. The children screamed.
Shadow didn’t move.
Gretchen put her last batch in the oven and crossed the cabin to pet the Newfoundland pup. “Good boy.” His tail waved slightly in reply.
While the fireworks continued, Gretchen propped open the cabin door, and Shadow pushed back from the window and trotted out to the deck of the boat. He waited attentively for the party to come to him; people could never resist his big, furry head. As planned, when the fireworks ended and the town’s festivities drifted inside from the chilly autumn air, the teens stepped onto Gretchen’s deck first. A pet for Shadow, then it was so easy to lure them into the cabin with her peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, deliciously forbidden under the town council’s “Guidelines for a Healthy Homecoming”. She needed as many kids as possible to confuse her real purpose for the evening.
The music blared from the other boats, and the kids were loud. Louder than Shadow had ever experienced. He twitched his ears and moved in from the deck. Gretchen watched him shuffle from position to position as his paws were stepped on and his thick coat was petted, poked, and pulled. Any hint of a growl might scare the kids away, and tonight’s opportunity would be lost. Gretchen realized she was holding her breath.
But she needn’t have worried. Shadow moved with intention; he was focused on the girl. The girl who lived in the mansion on the lake. The girl whose parents would pay a fortune for her safety. It was the first time Shadow had seen her at the boat. He weaved his way through the legs of the other children, and Gretchen eased into the cabin to watch more closely.
Shadow wasn’t just looking for a familiar face; he sensed something. Gretchen’s heart beat fast. She hadn’t counted on this happening. Shadow was zeroed in on the girl, impervious to all distractions now. What did he sense? A sweet smell, a tinny taste, a faint ringing that no one else could hear? He reached the girl and nudged her leg. She moved away. He followed. She pushed his head with a laugh. He stepped on her toe. The girl stepped back. He was now between her and the other kids, and her attention was on him. She thought he was playing. He maneuvered her toward the sleeping quarters. Gretchen crossed the room in two strides, pushed the girl onto the bed, and shut the door behind them. The girl let out a small gasp of surprise before she started to convulse. Gretchen passed the device across her chest and triggered an electric shock. The girl went limp. A half-eaten cookie fell from her hand. Shadow stretched alongside her on the bed and pinned her in place with a large paw. Gretchen said, “Good boy,” as she dialed the phone.
“We have your daughter. Come to the dock.”
By the time the girl’s parents arrived, the party had relocated to another boat. Gretchen was holding Shadow by a leash when she met them at the door. “Where is she? Is she alright?” The mother pushed past Gretchen when she saw her daughter sitting on a chair in the cabin. The father handed Gretchen an envelope. “Worth every penny,” he said.
A few minutes later, the family left the dock with the dog on the leash between them. “Mom, Shadow knew I was going to have a seizure, and he told me! Gretchen used my nerve stimulator to stop it, and nobody else even knew! Can you believe I went to a party all by myself?” The girl knelt down to hug Shadow. “You’re going to help me do lots of things from now on, aren’t you, boy?” His tail wagged heartily in response. Her parents exchanged a teary, grateful glance and looked back at Gretchen. Through the cabin window, Gretchen returned a wistful smile, for the puppy she had trained, who had passed every test, and who was now on his way to a new home with a child of his own.
Read more about seizure dogs at the Epilepsy Foundation website.
kristalynn
spunkandteddy
