CHAPTER 17:
FAKING IT
For the next week, Sammy and Simon and the volunteers took care of the dogs while Rav spent a lot of time in his office. They didn't drive down the mountain to pick up dogs or do adoption booths, because Rav said he was working on something that was “critical path."
Which was silly. There was no path that Sammy could see. But Rav didn't want to talk about the search and rescue training, so Sammy had to wait. Then on Thursday, there was a phone call and Rav came out of his office with his face dark and unhappy.
"What is it?" Sammy asked.
"That was the police down in Oakhurst. A dog hoarder passed away this morning—heart attack."
"Oh no!"
"She's got twenty-eight dogs on her property that need to be picked up ASAP. Sounds like they're in bad shape. I said we'd take them."
"Good." Sammy hesitated. "We take all of them?"
They'd been adopting out a lot of dogs. Many volunteers wanted to adopt a dog after spending time with them. But still, they only had ten empty kennels.
Rav nodded. "Yeah. We can double-up some of the dogs for a few days. Will you work on that? I'll load the van with crates."
Sammy got the kennels ready. When they came out of the shelter, ready to go, Roman was there. Sammy was a little intimidated by Roman. He stood by a Mad Creek Sheriff's Department SUV with his feet apart, arms folded over his chest. He looked so big and tough! He had a very deep and serious voice too. Also: he was brave. He'd sniffed bombs in the army, that's what Simon said. And now Roman had a job as a sheriff's deputy, where he helped people.
Fake it ’til you make it. Sammy moved his shoulders back, standing taller like Roman.
"Let's load the back of your SUV with crates and get going," Rav told Roman.
They weren't sure how big the dogs would be, so Rav picked a mix of small, medium, and large crates, all the ones they had, even some old gross ones. Sammy gathered water bowls, a few bags of food, and towels. They had a doggie first aid kit that went in the front of Rav's van too.
Sammy rode with Rav on the way down the mountain. When they pulled up at the hoarder's house, there was a cop car in the driveway. A pretty woman in a uniform came over to Rav's window. He rolled it down.
"Rav Miller. We're from Hold My Paw in Mad Creek. We were called in to pick up the dogs."
"Oh aren't you a sight for sore eyes then! Been waitin' on you. Some of these poor babies need a vet ASAP." She leaned in and looked at Sammy. "What's your name, honey?"
"Sammy." Sammy smiled at the lady. She had black braids under her blue cap and her big brown eyes had very curly lashes. "I'm sorry about the lady who died."
"Um-hmm. It's just a tragedy all the way around. Poor Mrs. Wojinski." Her voice was soft and kind of dry and Sammy liked her.
"Well, Rav and Sammy, you all come on inside now. Let's get these dogs taken care of."
The inside was gross. The smell of pee and poop was so strong Sammy held his nose. It was dark with all the curtains drawn, and damp with moisture. Every surface was dirty. Sammy had to try very hard not to gag.
Dogs crowded around Sammy's feet. They were so excited to see new people. Some were sick and all of them were too skinny. There were open sores on a few dogs and another who had lost most of his hair. Some dogs were scared, and they hung back, peeking around chairs or hugging the walls, barking madly.
Rav had a bunch of leashes clipped to his belt. He handed some to Sammy and Roman. "Take the friendly ones first. Once we get them secured in the crates, we can work on the skittish ones."
"Got it, sir." Roman's eyes were wide. He spoke calmly, but Sammy sensed the anger and sadness underneath. Probably Roman had never seen dogs in a bad condition like this. It made Sammy's chest hurt too, but he had gotten used to it a little.
A white poodle was enthusiastically hopping up at Sammy's feet, so he picked her up and soothed her with pets. Sweet girl. Sweet thing. He whispered in her ear that they were going to take her to a nice place. She didn't understand, but she licked his face a hundred times. He took her out and put her in one of the small crates, filled up her water bowl from a jug and scattered a handful of kibble in her cage. He went for the next dog and the next. Roman and Rav passed him with arms full of small dogs and big dogs on leash.
The last dog was hiding. He was an old Beagle mix and was way back under the mom's bed, pressed to the wall. Rav got the stick with a loop from the van, but Sammy didn't like that tool. It was scary. Sammy lay down and looked at the dog.
Roman came into the room. "All my crates are full," he told Rav.
"Great. Thanks. Go ahead and start back. We'll be right behind you. The volunteers can help you put the new dogs in kennels, or you can wait for us."
"We'll manage, sir," Roman said. He left.
The lady in the police uniform came into the room. She looked under the bed. "Oh, that's Wizard. I've been comin' to this house for at least eight years, and he was the first dog I met. Come on out of there, Wizard. Don't think he hears or sees too good. He's an old boy."
"I can get him," Sammy said. The pretty lady in the uniform meant well, but more voices and faces were upsetting Wizard.
"We should use the loop," Rav said.
"No, let me try," Sammy insisted. He knew what it was like to be dragged out from under a bed, and he wouldn't do that to Wizard.
Sammy scooted under the bed, slowly. Wizard cowered, but he didn't growl or try to move.
When Sammy was close, he looked Wizard in the eyes and talked to him. Silly nothing words. Soon, he was able to pet Wizard, though there wasn't much room under the bed. Then he got his arm around the dog and held him close. Rav pulled them both out by tugging on Sammy's feet. That was actually fun! Sammy was sorry they couldn't do it again.
The old beagle was the last to go into the truck. There was only one crate left and it had what Rav called a wonky door. Sammy latched it and hoped it would hold.
The police lady had given them some crates too. Now there were so many crates with dogs, the van doors wouldn't shut all the way. Rav got frustrated, because it was hot out and the dogs were hot in the van. Finally he used some rope to tie the doors mostly shut.
When they were all set, they said goodbye to the nice police lady, and off they drove.
* * *
Sammy was nervous about the dogs in the back of the van, because Rav said it was too hot for them. He couldn't see much of the crates from the passenger seat, so he kept checking the mirror outside his door too.
"They'll be fine," Rav assured him. "I have the AC blasting back there. Even with the back doors cracked, they'll get most of the air before it escapes."
"Okay."
Sammy continued to glance out the side mirror, though. He knew the dogs had to be anxious about what was happening. The windy mountain road had never seemed so long. Then it got worse. There was a bridge over a river and the traffic was stopped. They were stuck in a line of cars that weren't moving at all.
"How come we aren't going?" Sammy shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, but all he could see up ahead were lots of cars, the silver sides of the bridge, and dense foliage on the sides of the road.
“Because they like to torture us,” Rav muttered.
Sammy looked around in alarm.
“I’m kidding. They’re just fixing the road. Looks like it goes down to one lane up ahead."
"Oh. But why? Two lanes work better than one." Sammy was joking, and he couldn’t stop the small giggle that gave it away.
Rav rolled his eyes and smiled. "Goof. Just chill, Sammy. We’ll get home soon." He reached over and ran his fingers through Sammy's hair.
Wow. That was nice. Sammy relaxed, slumping back against the seat. Rav's fingertips rubbed his scalp, the way he did when they were on the couch. Sammy sighed happily. He still wished the traffic would move, but he wasn't as worried about it now.
He looked out the side mirror, lazily, and saw a flash of white. Frowning, he sat up. Wizard ran by on the side of the road, his white-grizzled face anxious and scared.
"Oh no!" Sammy sprang his seat belt, opened the door, and jumped out after the dog.
"Sammy!" Rav called, but Sammy ignored him.
Wizard was up ahead, running past all the cars and approaching the bridge. For a moment, Sammy saw the situation through Wizard's eyes. There were too many cars, too much metal, and the road was hot. Wizard was looking for someplace to hide.
Don't hide under a car. Don't hide under a car. Sammy chanted in his head. If Wizard went under a car and the car moved before Sammy could get him out….
But Wizard ran onto the bridge, sticking close to the concrete wall.
"Wizard!" Sammy called out. "Wizard, stop!"
The words only made Wizard run faster. His legs pumped, and his butt wriggled with an anxious rhythm like he was running away from danger.
"Sammy!" Rav called.
Sammy ran onto the bridge. The cars heading their direction were all stopped on the bridge too. The other lane was empty, and on the other side of the bridge, there were big vehicles and orange cones. Sammy hoped Wizard would just keep running that way. Maybe the men up there would grab him and hold him.
"Wizard, no!" Sammy called out again. "Please stop!"
Wizard spun around to look at Sammy, his ears flopping.
Sammy was running. He tried to stop as soon as Wizard faced him, but it was too late. Sammy saw panic flash in Wizard's eyes and knew what he was thinking—the construction trucks were in front of him, a line of hot metal cars were on one side, and Sammy was coming at him from behind.
The side of the bridge had a short concrete lip topped by two wide metal rails. There was a gap between the rails, the river visible below.
No, no, no, no. Sammy chanted in his head, but he knew what Wizard was going to do. Then, from one breath to the next, Wizard was gone.
"Wizard!" Sammy screamed. He ran for the place where Wizard had disappeared. Stunned, he looked over the railing.
Down below, the brown water looked wide and deep. The surface was calm, but little bubbles and ripples showed it was not calm at all. Downstream from the bridge, Sammy saw the white head of Wizard. He was paddling frantically in the middle of the river. Sammy's heart hurt. Wizard was scared. He could die. Right now, he could die.
It was like Mom Charlotte in that moment at the top of the stairs.
Sammy was scared too.
Fake it ’til you make it.
He kicked off his shoes, pulled his T-shirt over his head, and pushed down his shorts so he only wore his underwear. Even as his hands seemed to do these things on their own, he was very clear in his head. He saw it in a flash, like a movie. If he went into the water after Wizard, it would be dangerous. But he was a good swimmer. He was. He was strong and smart.
But the river can be fast, fast, fast. What if it's stronger than you?
What if it's not?
And if he could do it and didn't, and Wizard died, Sammy would be a coward forever. He was scared. But he could pretend he wasn't. And Rav said that was just as good.
The day was bright and hot, the sky blue, the sun blinding. It sparkled over the water below like knives. But it was just water after all.
"Sammy, don't!" Rav shouted.
Sammy looked to his right. Rav was running toward him as hard as he could, his mouth a thin white line. He'd just reached the bridge.
Sammy stepped onto the concrete lip. His thighs were strong, his feet big and steady.
"I love you!" he shouted out to the world, to Rav.
He jumped over the railing.