Saved by a Warrior Dog by Cassidy Wells

Author:Cassidy Wells [Wells, Cassidy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781734472004
Publisher: Tree of Serenity Press
Published: 2020-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Whimpering woke her from a nightmare of a man in dark clothing chasing her. It took a minute for her to shake it off and to realize the whimpering wasn’t coming from her.

“Maverick?” She slid out of bed, turned on the light, and found him on the floor at the end of the bed. He whimpered, and his body was rigid. Occasionally, he’d jerk his feet as if running. Was this his PTSD, or just a normal dog dream? She sat down on the floor next to him, remembering what the vet had told them about grounding him.

“Maverick.” She tried to make her voice stern and commanding. No response except more whimpering. Swallowing hard, she reached her hand out toward his head, and petted him with as much pressure as she could. “Va bene, Maverick.” she said quietly. No that wasn’t right; she needed to be more forceful.

She cleared her throat. “Va bene! Va bene, Maverick! It’s okay! You’re safe. It’s time to wake up!” She heard her voice wobble, and took in a deep breath. “Va bene! Tu sei al sicuro!” She was probably butchering the pronounciation. She’d learned the phrase, “you are safe,” but hadn’t used it yet. She continued to pet him and say the phrases over and over.

His whimpering stopped, and his eyes popped open. He moved his head to look at her more closely, then looked around the room.

“Va bene, Maverick.” She saw the hall light come on, and Rob appeared in the doorway.

“Is he okay? I heard you shouting in Italian.”

“He seemed to be dreaming. I didn’t know if it was PTSD, but I followed Dr. Waring’s instructions to get him grounded and aware.”

Rob dropped to the floor on the other side of the dog. Maverick looked back and forth between them. “It’s okay, buddy. We’re both here. You’re safe.” He added his hand to the dog’s back, petting him firmly.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, although I was nervous about touching him. I didn’t know how he’d respond. I didn’t know if he’d recognize me, or if he’d attack me or something.”

“You mean, like I did?” He looked down at the dog again. “I guess it never hurts to be careful, but the longer he’s around you, the more he’ll recognize your scent, and that you’re a friend. I don’t think he’d attack unless directed to. He seems pretty relaxed. Was he worked up?”

“Mostly he was whimpering and jerking his feet like he was running.”

“The whimpering suggests he wasn’t chasing a rabbit. Maybe it was a bad dream, or a flashback.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“I’ll take him out.” He looked at the clock on her dresser. “You’ve got a couple more hours to sleep.”

“Thanks.”

They all scambled to their feet, and she turned away to head back to bed. Rob grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry I was such a jerk tonight. You did well with him. Not just now, but earlier, too. He’s in good hands.”

“I hope so.” She gazed up at him, and felt drawn in by the emotion in his eyes.

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