Different Kind of Beauty by Sylvia McNicoll

Author:Sylvia McNicoll
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000, book
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Published: 2010-11-16T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Elizabeth and Beauty

Dog Therapy

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” I told Rolph. Well, Deb was chatting away with Gwen, having a good time. Was I going to interrupt that, so she could talk to a drunk? How embarrassing would that be for her, with Gwen sitting right there, even if he had something to say that she wanted to hear?

I hung up.

“Wrong number,” I lied to no one in particular and smiled.

“Maybe I will give Scott a call,” I told Gwen. Let’s just see if he thinks of me as a kid sister. “He can help me walk Beauty. If we carry her part of the way, and there’s no noise, she should get over it eventually.”

“Great. If you want to take her over to Scott’s now, I’ll come with you,” Gwen said.

Turned out Beauty was far too heavy to carry, but we coaxed as we dragged her. “Look how nice it is outside, girl. Not too hot, not too cold.” She looked up at me and stepped forward slowly, tail hanging. When we finally got to Scott’s, it took ten dog biscuits to lure Beauty on to Gwen’s house.

Which is when Scott kissed Gwen good-bye, as I watched. Slow, easy, his lips gentle on hers—that kiss looked no different from the one we’d shared. What exactly did that mean? Were we getting married in fifteen years or not? I had the feeling Scott didn’t know either, and we had nothing much to say on the way home after that.

It took only two biscuits to walk Beauty back. At least she’s getting over the jackhammer, I thought as we turned down our walk. But then a bus rumbled up behind, sishing just a little as it slowed down for the stop sign. Beauty bucked like a wild bronco. When I got the door open, she bolted for her crate.

By Saturday, I was still bribing her and dragging her on short walks. Always there would be a bus, and Beauty would drag me straight home. Mom happened to be at the house for Beauty’s daily dash to the crate. “If she doesn’t like walks anymore, how can she possibly be a guide dog? You have to call Canine Vision, Liz. Don’t put it off any longer.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed hard. It was so unfair. Beauty had been the perfect dog until that jackhammer. Now she didn’t even make a good pet. She hardly wagged her tail anymore; she didn’t jump up to greet me.

I sat beside her crate and stared into her sad golden eyes.

“I’ll try to keep you if you flunk, girl. You know that I’ll always love you.” She licked my face with her warm tongue and made me feel better.

So I made the call. I didn’t get through to the head trainer right away, but I did leave a detailed message about Beauty’s problem. He called me back later and I explained how Beauty acted around buses—and any loud noises, really, since that jackhammer.

“What a tough break.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.