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Authors: Alexis Morgan
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arrived.
• • •
Inside, Leif had already dug up a couple of old towels. He spread them out on the floor and then used a trash bag to protect them from the dog’s blood.
“Let’s get him cleaned up while we wait.”
Spence nodded as he knelt down to settle the dog on the makeshift bed. Was it a bad sign that the dog didn’t even whimper despite being jarred? And how was he supposed to know something like that? He’d never owned a pet in his life.
Leif was back with a bowl of water, a couple of rags, and another towel. Spence accepted the supplies and began gently washing away the caked blood and dirt. A narrow groove ran across the top of the dog’s left shoulder.
Spence glanced up at Leif with a small smile. “Looks like he took the same kind of shot you did. Bloody, painful, but maybe not fatal.”
Leif squatted down to pat the dog gently on the head. “Let’s hope the medic knows something about treating four-legged patients.”
Or at least that he was willing to try. What the hell was taking Nick so long? Sean’s rack wasn’t all that far from theirs. Spence continued washing the dog and crossing his fingers that the animal could hang in there long enough for help to arrive.
While he continued to work, Leif changed out the bowl of bloody water for a clean one. As he set it down beside Spence, the door opened and two men and a woman slipped inside. Sean and Nick stood back to let her take the lead.
“I’m Amanda Mann, one of the veterinary techs for the military dogs. Sean here asked me to take a look at yours.”
Spence glanced up at Nick. The more people who knew about the dog, the greater the risk the brass found out about him. His friend shrugged, evidently all right with the situation.
“Thanks for coming, Amanda. How serious is it?”
She did a quick examination. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but nothing vital took damage. I’m going to sedate him so I can treat the wound. He’ll need an IV to replace fluids, and I’ll give you some antibiotics for him to take. As dirty as he is, there’s a real risk of infection setting in. But with proper care, he stands a decent chance of a full recovery.”
The veterinary tech offered Spence an encouraging smile. “What’s his name?”
The picture that immediately popped into Spence’s head was the dog standing next to him, wagging his tail, and hoping for a handout.
“Mooch. He had me pegged for a soft touch the minute he spotted me.”
She laughed, and surprisingly so did Nick. “Yeah, he passed all of us by and went for the one man in our unit with the word ‘sucker’ tattooed on his forehead.”
Spence wanted to take offense, but it was nothing less than the truth. “Yeah, well Mooch earned that beef jerky and a hell of a lot more tonight, didn’t you, boy?”
Mooch thumped his tail in response, which had everyone laughing again. Spence patted him on the head and spoke a whole bunch of nonsense to distract the dog while Amanda went to work. It didn’t take long.
As she packed up her supplies, she asked, “You know how to disconnect the IV when it’s done?”
“Yeah, I can handle that.”
“Good. The fewer trips I make over here, the better. I’m not supposed to use our supplies on strays.”
Her expression turned serious. “Look, I can get kind of forgetful sometimes, which is embarrassing. If you happen to run across a few bags of kibble sitting around outside your door, think you can you make them disappear for me? I wouldn’t want my C.O. to find out that I’d managed to lose more of our supplies again.”
Spence grinned at her. “Will do, Amanda. And thanks again. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, I’m there.”
She winked at him. “Actually, Sean was telling me you’re the go-to guy for popcorn and movies. I’m pretty tired of the ones I’ve got.”
He pointed toward the tall pile on the shelf by his bed. “The newest ones are over there. Help yourself. No hurry getting them
• • •
Inside, Leif had already dug up a couple of old towels. He spread them out on the floor and then used a trash bag to protect them from the dog’s blood.
“Let’s get him cleaned up while we wait.”
Spence nodded as he knelt down to settle the dog on the makeshift bed. Was it a bad sign that the dog didn’t even whimper despite being jarred? And how was he supposed to know something like that? He’d never owned a pet in his life.
Leif was back with a bowl of water, a couple of rags, and another towel. Spence accepted the supplies and began gently washing away the caked blood and dirt. A narrow groove ran across the top of the dog’s left shoulder.
Spence glanced up at Leif with a small smile. “Looks like he took the same kind of shot you did. Bloody, painful, but maybe not fatal.”
Leif squatted down to pat the dog gently on the head. “Let’s hope the medic knows something about treating four-legged patients.”
Or at least that he was willing to try. What the hell was taking Nick so long? Sean’s rack wasn’t all that far from theirs. Spence continued washing the dog and crossing his fingers that the animal could hang in there long enough for help to arrive.
While he continued to work, Leif changed out the bowl of bloody water for a clean one. As he set it down beside Spence, the door opened and two men and a woman slipped inside. Sean and Nick stood back to let her take the lead.
“I’m Amanda Mann, one of the veterinary techs for the military dogs. Sean here asked me to take a look at yours.”
Spence glanced up at Nick. The more people who knew about the dog, the greater the risk the brass found out about him. His friend shrugged, evidently all right with the situation.
“Thanks for coming, Amanda. How serious is it?”
She did a quick examination. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but nothing vital took damage. I’m going to sedate him so I can treat the wound. He’ll need an IV to replace fluids, and I’ll give you some antibiotics for him to take. As dirty as he is, there’s a real risk of infection setting in. But with proper care, he stands a decent chance of a full recovery.”
The veterinary tech offered Spence an encouraging smile. “What’s his name?”
The picture that immediately popped into Spence’s head was the dog standing next to him, wagging his tail, and hoping for a handout.
“Mooch. He had me pegged for a soft touch the minute he spotted me.”
She laughed, and surprisingly so did Nick. “Yeah, he passed all of us by and went for the one man in our unit with the word ‘sucker’ tattooed on his forehead.”
Spence wanted to take offense, but it was nothing less than the truth. “Yeah, well Mooch earned that beef jerky and a hell of a lot more tonight, didn’t you, boy?”
Mooch thumped his tail in response, which had everyone laughing again. Spence patted him on the head and spoke a whole bunch of nonsense to distract the dog while Amanda went to work. It didn’t take long.
As she packed up her supplies, she asked, “You know how to disconnect the IV when it’s done?”
“Yeah, I can handle that.”
“Good. The fewer trips I make over here, the better. I’m not supposed to use our supplies on strays.”
Her expression turned serious. “Look, I can get kind of forgetful sometimes, which is embarrassing. If you happen to run across a few bags of kibble sitting around outside your door, think you can you make them disappear for me? I wouldn’t want my C.O. to find out that I’d managed to lose more of our supplies again.”
Spence grinned at her. “Will do, Amanda. And thanks again. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, I’m there.”
She winked at him. “Actually, Sean was telling me you’re the go-to guy for popcorn and movies. I’m pretty tired of the ones I’ve got.”
He pointed toward the tall pile on the shelf by his bed. “The newest ones are over there. Help yourself. No hurry getting them
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