“Stop, I didn’t scream, I was too terrified to make a sound. Anyway I’m finding public transportation to be more than adequate. It’s good for the environment; maybe you should try it.”
“I just am amazed to find myself dating the bus boy.”
“Dating? So we’re dating. Like, officially.”
“I just made a serious error.”
“No, this will be good for you. You’ll finally be dating a guy who doesn’t have to put in a once-a-week call to a parole officer.”
“We’ve had one date, don’t pick out your china pattern just yet,” Olivia said.
“I’m changing my Facebook status.”
“Oh, God.”
“I’m going to go to med school next fall. I don’t need a car until then—my mom and I can walk to the VA and the stores, and Denver’s got a great bus system. Plus, the woman I’m dating has a car.”
“This is the worst day of my life.” When we turned up our street, Olivia put a hand out to touch his arm. “What’s with all the police?”
* * *
I had heard the word “police” before, and associated it with the people with the dark clothes and the metal things on their hips.
“I don’t know. Looks like somebody called the cops for something,” Lucas said. “It’s not my mom, though; they’re all across the street from our place.”
“It’s a protest. See?” Olivia pointed.
We were stopped, which frustrated me because I wanted to go see everyone who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the den. Some were holding large sheets of paper on sticks, waving them in the air.
“I took video of the cats and of the demolition permit. Someone put it on Facebook or something.” Lucas was tapping on his phone. Then he held it out for Olivia to look at. I yawned. Phones are boring. “Perfect! Look, my mom cut in the shot of the backhoe pulling up on the trailer and the rest is the video I took in the crawl space. She tagged every animal activist in the city with it.”
“That’s awesome. I love your mom; she’s a rebel. Unlike some people I could mention,” Olivia said.
“See the guy who looks so angry? That’s Gunter. He’s the one who wants to tear down the place. I think he’d call me a rebel. He told me he was going to bribe an animal control officer to certify there were no cats.”
“He told you that? Not real bright.”
“He pretty much feels he can do whatever he wants in the world.”
“That’s a news van.” Olivia pointed again. “Looks like you’re going to be famous.”
“I won’t forget you or any of the little people who made this possible.”
“Oh, I know you’ll never forget me.”
Lucas left me with Olivia. He talked to some of the people, including someone I had smelled before, the woman named Audrey. There were several people in dark clothes, and they stood in the street and waved at cars. At one point someone put a bright light on Lucas’s face while Olivia held my leash.
Her hand still smelled a little like the chicken.
* * *
I was glad to see Mom when we finally turned away and went home. Then Lucas and Olivia left, which upset me until Mom put food in my bowl.
I heard the loud chime and did No Barks. Mom went to the door, blocking me with her legs, and it was the smoky-meat man, Gunter. “Is your son home, ma’am?”
“No, he’s out.”
“My name is Gunter Beckenbauer.”
“Yes, I know who you are,” Mom replied coolly.
“Do you know what your son did tonight?”
“Yes.”
“He had a bunch of his friends stage a phony protest on my property. Why is he doing this to me? What the hell did I ever do to either one of you?”
“I think he is just trying to save some innocent animals.”
“My website got all these death threats. I could sue your asses.”
Mom was apparently not going to let me get any closer to Gunter to sniff him, though I was really interested by the meaty fragrance on his clothing. I sat down.
“Let me ask you something,” Mom said. “Why don’t you just let the rescue people go in there and capture the remaining cats? That would solve everything.”
“Those houses are condemned. They’re falling apart. Someone gets hurt under there, it’s a huge liability.”
“So, they’d sign a release. Absolve you of liability.”
“Look, you know what this is about? That’s my property, and your son has been breaking and entering and feeding the damn cats, which is the only reason they are even there! Now it’s winter. You know how much more expensive construction is when it’s below freezing? He created this problem, it’s his fault, and if a bunch of cats get squished it’s on him. Post that to your social website.” Gunter was pointing his smoky meat finger at Mom’s face. He sounded very angry, and I felt the fur rising on the back of my neck. A growl grew inside me, but I didn’t make a sound. Did No Barks mean I wasn’t supposed to growl?
Mom gazed at Gunter without any expression on her face. “Are you through?”
“You do not want to go to war with me, lady.”
“War.” Mom took a step toward the man, staring at him. I could feel strong emotions coming off her. “You think this is war? You don’t know anything about war.”
The man shifted his gaze. “Dog’s getting pretty big. What is that, a pit bull? How can you have a dog here? I know the management, isn’t a dog against your lease?”
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Beckenbauer?”
“I just want it on the record that I tried to work things out on a friendly basis.”
“The record shows you came over here to say we’re going to war. Good night.” Mom shut the door. As she did, the tension left her muscles, but she seemed tired. “Oh, Bella,” she said softly, “I have a really bad feeling about this.”
* * *
Lucas started leaving home without me a lot. When he came back, he smelled like Olivia. I wondered why he would be with our friend Olivia and not take me, his dog.
There were so many things I did not understand. I liked going to the vet, who was a nice lady, but one time we went and I fell asleep and when I woke up I was home with a stiff plastic collar around my neck. The thing was uncomfortable and ridiculous. I couldn’t lick myself anywhere.
“You’re spayed now, Bella,” Lucas told me. I flicked my tail at my name, because he did not seem to be cross with me, but he still punished me with the odd collar for several days.
Long after the collar came off, Mom and I were home alone because Lucas had done Go to Work so that he could see Olivia. Mom seemed tired and unhappy. Several times she put her hand to her face.
Then a sharp and sour scent filled the air. It was familiar: the last time it happened, Mom got sick and I was left alone in the house all night. I whined anxiously, but she didn’t look at me.
So I barked.
“Bella! No Barks!” Mom scolded loudly.
I panted, anxious and frightened. When Lucas came home I jumped up on him, whimpering. “What is it? What’s wrong with you, Bella?”
“She’s been acting strangely for the past half an hour,” Mom said, coming into the living room. “Oh, I need to lie down for a few minutes.” She collapsed on the couch.
“You okay?” Lucas asked, concerned.
“Give me a minute.”
The tang from her turned sharper and I couldn’t help myself. I barked again.
“Bella! No Barks!” Lucas told me.
I barked.
“Hey!” He swatted my rear. “No Barks, Bella! You just … Mom? Mom!”
Mom was making small peeping sounds, her hands curled up as they batted at the air. Lucas ran to where she lay on the couch. “Mom, Mom,” he whispered, his fear potent and raw. He pulled out his phone. “My mother is having a seizure,” he said into it. “Hurry.”
Then he curled up on the couch to give her comfort. I jumped up next to him and laid my head on
his shoulder, trying to help. “You’ll be okay. Please be okay, Mom.”
Soon there were two women and a man in our house. They lifted Mom onto a bed and wheeled her out the door. Lucas took me to my crate and closed me in. “You’re a good dog, Bella,” he told me. “You stay.”
I did not feel like a good dog because I had been left alone. I did No Barks all night, missing Lucas. I was afraid he might never come home.
I did not understand what was happening.
* * *
Lucas returned while it was still dark outside, fed me and walked me and then lay down on the bed with me. We did Tiny Piece of Cheese, but he seemed distracted and didn’t laugh. I snuggled against his side, feeling some fear in him, loving being so close to my Lucas, helping him by pressing up to him. When he left that morning it was more normal, and I waited patiently for his return.
Mom, Lucas, and Olivia all came home together. I spun around in circles, so excited to see all of them.
“Thank you so much for the ride,” Mom told Olivia. “It wasn’t necessary; I felt fine to walk.”
“No, it’s okay. Lucas thinks I’m his personal Uber now anyway,” Olivia replied.
That night, after Olivia left, Lucas sat at the table and played with his phone. “It says that fifteen percent of dogs can sense seizures.”
“That’s amazing. It sure did seem like she knew what was going on,” Mom replied.
“You are one amazing dog, Bella,” he praised.
I wagged, hearing approval in the way he said my name. I was happy we were all home together, and knew that soon Lucas would do Tiny Piece of Cheese.
There was a knock at the door. I fought down my urges and did No Barks. “Hang onto Bella,” Mom said.
Lucas grabbed my collar. “We need to make sure it isn’t someone from the building, Bella,” he said softly. “Just No Barks.” I loved the feel of his hand on my fur and the way he made gentle noises and said my name.
I smelled a man on the doorstep whose scent was sometimes on the air near our house. Mom spoke to him briefly, then closed the door. Lucas released me and I went to her because she felt sad and angry.
“What is it?” Lucas asked.
“Eviction notice.”
“What?”
“I had gotten complacent. It seemed like we were going to get away with it.” Mom sat heavily in her chair.
“Bella’s been so good!” Lucas sat down, too. “She’s never barked once. How did they even find out?”
“Oh,” Mom replied, “I know how.”
Eight
The next day I did Go to Work with Lucas, which was my favorite thing to do except Tiny Piece of Cheese. I spent time seeing Ty and my other friends. Many of them now carried little treats because I was such a good dog. Steve gave me a cold and delicious bite of something tasting like milk, but much sweeter. Marty gave me bacon. Their affection for me was obvious in their pats and words and cuddles. One old man liked to kiss me on my nose but could not bend over very well so I had learned to go to his chair and put my paws on his chest and lick his face. He laughed when I did this. His name was Wylie and he called me Keeper instead of Bella.
“This one is a keeper,” he told Ty every time.
Normally when I went to visit my friends I spent most of the day with them, providing comfort, eating treats, and playing “Dr. Gann,” which was the game where I lay on the couch between two people and they covered me with a blanket and petted me gently until someone called “Okay!” It was like Stay only much more fun. This day, Lucas and Ty took me to a different part of the hospital. We stood for a while and listened to bells, and I did No Barks, and then a door slid open and we went into a small room that hummed and shook. I felt a sensation in my stomach similar to a car ride. When the door opened, the smells had changed and I knew somehow we were somewhere else. It was like a car ride without a car!
Following the two men down a slick hallway, I smelled along the walls, picking up the scent of many people and chemicals. Ty and Lucas seemed nervous and we were moving very quickly so I was unable to drink in all the odors properly. We turned a few corners and then Lucas knocked on an open door and poked in his head. “Dr. Sterling? It’s Lucas Ray. I called you this morning?”
“Come in,” a man greeted. His hands smelled strongly of chemicals as he grasped fingers with Lucas, changed his mind and grabbed Ty’s hand, then changed it again and dropped his arm. “So is this the dog?”
“This is Bella.”
I wagged. He leaned over and rubbed my head. I liked this man despite the sharp tang wafting from his palms. “You’d better shut the door, Ty.”
Everyone sat down, so I did, too. There was nothing much to smell in the room. I could tell the open bin by his desk had some potatoes in it, though.
“So,” the man began, “I looked into it. Yes, there are seizure dogs. Most of them are trained to do what you say Bella does naturally, which is to signal. Some people claim they’ve saved lives, though naturally there are naysayers. And by law you have to be allowed to have a seizure dog if a doctor prescribes it. Doesn’t matter if you’re in a no-pet building, they have to make an exception. I talked to our house counsel and he says the Fair Housing Act, the FHA, is very clear on the matter.”
“Thank God,” Lucas murmured.
The man held up one of his stinky hands. “Well, wait a minute, it’s not that simple. There’s a whole procedure to go through. Bella would have to be certified. Right now, she’s just a pet.”
“But I told you, she’s barked both times recently when my Mom has been going into a seizure. If we understood what was going on, we could have prepared for it!”
I felt my person’s agitation and looked at him anxiously. What was wrong?
“I do understand that, son,” the man replied. “But having the innate ability is a far cry from obtaining a legal certification.”
“How long will that take?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t really know, but it looks like an involved process.” The man shrugged. “We don’t do that here, I can tell you that much.”
“We only have three days left before they start proceedings,” Lucas moaned. I licked his hand.
“Doc, couldn’t you give him some kind of letter about this?” Ty asked.
“I can’t do that. Even if a letter would do any good, which I highly doubt—as I said, there’s a clear process—I can’t state she’s a trained seizure-alert animal, because she’s not trained, she’s just a dog with innate ability.”
Ty stood up. If anything, he seemed more agitated than Lucas. “Look, this is a really special dog. She comes on the ward and you can just see people’s stress going away. In twelve step, the new ones are thrilled to have her there; she gives them confidence. She sits right up front and nearly everyone who wants to speak pets her first. And I know she helps Terri; she told me Bella’s more effective than the antidepressants she’s taking. Everyone loves her. She’s doing good here, doc. That’s got to count for something.”
The man was quiet for a moment. “So you do know having a dog in the VA is against the rules, right?” he finally asked.
“I know I will do what it takes to help the men and women I care about. Men and women who served this country. People who are having a tough time for a lot of reasons. And if this dog can make a difference I am damn well going to see to it she gets to come here!” Ty responded hotly.
The man held up a hand. “No, don’t misunderstand me. I just was making sure you knew that if Dr. Gann, or a couple of doctors I could name, find out you’ve been smuggling a pet into the hospital, they’ll shut you down. I personally don’t have a dog in the hunt, no pun intended.”
“Bella is more than just a pet,” Ty stated evenly. He seemed less angry. “That’s what I am telling you.”
I liked hearing Ty say my name, and I wagged.
“How is your mother?” the man asked Lucas.
“She’s … in some ways better, some ways worse. She hasn’t been too depress
ed lately, except these seizures are a real concern. We thought they were over.”
“And your dog helps her with depression?” the man asked.
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Tell me about that.”
“Well, she stays with Bella all day. When I come home, she is so much better than how it used to be, before the dog, I mean. It has been a long time since she was so down she hadn’t gotten out of her pajamas or had anything to eat when I got back. She takes Bella for walks and gets a lot of energy from that. And Bella seems to know when she’s starting to go to a dark place and will put her head in Mom’s lap.”
Lucas had said my name, so I wagged again.
“I’m glad to hear she’s doing better.”
“She is going to meetings on a much more frequent basis.” Lucas looked to Ty.
“I sort of can’t confirm that, Lucas,” Ty said apologetically.
“Oh right. Sorry.”
“Well, here’s the thing,” the man said, clearing his throat. “I cannot give you anything regarding her being a seizure dog. But as I understand the FHA, all that’s required for her to be considered an emotional support animal is a letter from a doctor currently treating Terri. So I’ll do that right now.”
“Will that … will the building allow us to stay if we have that letter?” Lucas asked hopefully.
“I’m not an attorney, but what I read online seems to clearly imply they have to.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Sterling. You have no idea how much this means to me and my mother.”
The man was using a pencil to scratch a piece of paper. “This doesn’t give you a get-out-of-jail-free card for the VA.” He looked sharply at Ty. “Having her here is still against the rules. A seizure dog, that might be a different story, but emotional support animals are barred.”
“Understood, doctor,” Ty said.
“I’m not going to rat you out, I’m just warning you what might happen if you’re discovered.”
“Oh, I think we can keep Bella a secret,” Ty observed dryly. “We’ve got good people on it.”
The man handed over a piece of paper and Lucas put it in his pocket. He seemed really, really happy, but he did not celebrate with any treats.