Hunting Death

Chapter 11

Madison found Keith exactly where she figured she would, but the scene she stumbled into was not at all what she expected. Keith stood next to a table, with a medium sized brown dog who had wiry hair, hooked up to one of those haunch holders groomers used as he affixed a small pink bow around one of her ears.

It seemed like such a small thing, but also so sweet. The dog's bottom wiggled, and she made several attempts to lick Keith on the face, he thwarted her advances each time, but the smile he wore told Madison how much he enjoyed the interaction.

"What's her name?" Madison asked, startling the dog who barked a couple of times before Keith gently patted her on the side and told her to shush.

Keith hadn't been surprised to see her though, in fact, the face he made said he had been expecting her all along. "Annie. Her name is Annie." He answered.

Madison held out a hand for Annie to sniff and reached around to give her a good scratching behind the ears. Meanwhile, Keith grabbed a brush off the counter behind him and got to work on her damp coat, brushing out any tangles he came across.

"How did Annie end up here?"

Keith laid down the brush, walking over to a folder that lay on his desk and opening it up for her to leaf through. She found several pictures inside, and they looked nothing like the dog on the table. Annie had been rather dirty, and mangled, her fur caked in mud, leaves, and debris. Another picture showed a close up of her neck after she'd been shaved. A large open wound ran across the underside of her throat like someone had left a collar on so small that it eventually dug into her skin.

"Someone dropped her off at animal control, and no one dared get near her. Every time they tried she would snap at them. They talked about putting her down, but your father happened to be there picking up another dog, and he agreed to take her."

Madison scratched Annie under her chin, and Annie responded by licking her hand enthusiastically. "I can't imagine this little sweetheart trying to bite anyone, but it's no wonder she did with that gaping hole in her neck!"

It angered her that someone had done that. Annie seemed about as sweet as apple pie and absolutely adorable to boot! She would have guessed some kind of terrier, perhaps an Irish Terrier or a Lakeland, given the color of her coat and her size, neither of which breeds were easy or inexpensive to come by. So why anyone would have tied her up outside and left her to rot was beyond Madison's comprehension.

"How long has she been here?"

Keith closed the folder, setting it down on the table and attempting to untie Annie as she squirmed and wriggled with excitement. "About a year. It took time for her to heal, and we wanted to teach her some manners, she came here completely vulgar, not very lady like at all."

Madison laughed, the way he talked about Annie, one might assume he spoke of a human being. But that might have been partially true in the eyes of some, after all, animals appeared as, if not more intuitive than some people, most of them certainly nicer to be around.

"Will she get adopted today?"

"I have a woman coming all the way from Texas to meet her, I doubt she's going to leave here without Annie."

"All the way from Texas? Wow." Madison exclaimed, surprised by the reach of her father's efforts. She hadn't realized people came from all over to adopt the dogs her father rescued. But she supposed that when you found the right one, you would go to great lengths, or in this case distances, to meet them.

Madison smiled to herself as she realized the same logic might be used for people too.

The sound of a couple of dozen barking dogs interrupted what remained of their moment. Keith slipped a leash around Annie's neck and the three of them headed outside to meet her potential adopter.