The chance to veer away from our volatile past was right in front of me, so I grabbed it. “And while we’re at it, I have something else to talk to you about. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Would you like to see the kennel while you tell me why you’re here?”

He opened the door and ushered me inside, where it was comfortably cool in the entryway. A long corridor led off to the left, and individual runs lined it, some with dogs barking for attention, others with dogs comfortably snoozing.

He stood beside me. “This is our boarding wing. Boarders are evaluated and sorted so we know who they can play with in the yard. Some have to be taken out individually for one-on-one.”

I stared straight ahead. “Isn’t that always the way? The worse they behave, the more attention they get. Same with people.”

“We work with each dog to improve manners. But the dogs we trust the least are inside, near the office.”

I was trying hard to leave space between us, and he noticed as we started down the concrete passageway. “Don’t get too close to the fencing as we walk. Somebody might try a friendly nip.”

I walked closer to him, trying not to pay attention to whether he winced with pain or had problems navigating corners. I tried not to pay attention, but of course, I did. And as we walked I relaxed a little. He seemed as comfortable with his prosthesis as I was with my well-broken-in running shoes.

Since I’d had little experience with dogs, I couldn’t name breeds, but a couple we passed looked fierce enough that I hoped the chain link fencing surrounding them was as strong as it looked.

“I won’t walk you down the other aisles. It’s more of the same, but those dogs are here specifically for training.” Teo opened a door at the end that was fastened with a chain, and we crossed through to another walkway, this time looking over a large open area. I noted a playhouse complete with tower, a wading pool, a corner shaded by canopy. Instead of grass, the ground was covered by artificial turf.

I was already impressed. Confidence K-9s was spick-and-span, and well organized. There were charts along the walls with names of dogs and instructions, with boxes to initial when a job was finished. The individual care was obvious.

I was surprised by one thing. “Artificial turf? Grass won’t grow here?”

“It’s easier to clean. We wash it down three times a day. Some dogs prefer the real thing, though, so we have another area with mulch.”

“I wouldn’t mind being a dog here.” We stood together watching the four dogs that were now in the yard romping. One, a collie of some kind, leaped against the fencing to look us over. A young man of about twenty was outside with them, and he came over and shooed the dog away. Teo introduced him as Jim before he went back to what he’d been doing.