“Kind of like with the dog you brought in, there are lots of incredible stories of animals who’ve come here after being saved from natural disasters. Which reminds me, you’re probably eager to see him.”

Olivia flipped her hands palms up. “Guilty as charged. I guess I’ve always been a sucker for those gangly-legged hunting dogs, but he really stole my heart. I’ve been thinking about him all week.”

“I can see why. He’s a sweetheart. He’s pretty timid, but he doesn’t act as if he was abused. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem all that used to affection either.”

“That fits what we saw and then heard about him. It seemed as if he had a pretty isolated life, most of which was spent alone in a pen.”

“Poor guy. On the bright side, we’re guessing he’s fairly young,” Tess said. “Maybe three or four. At least he’s got a lot of years ahead of him once he’s adopted to have that turned around for him.”

“That’s about how old Gabe thought he was. He said he’d feel better about narrowing it down if the dog wasn’t so underweight.”

“Hopefully he won’t remain that way long. He’s gained nearly a pound since he came in.” Tess paused and clamped her hands over her thighs. “So, Patrick’s out back working in the dog play area. He’s going to take over from here and show you the ropes of taking the dogs in and out of their kennels for walks. The pointer will be out of quarantine tomorrow if his test results come in clean, but until then, quarantined dogs are limited in where they can go when they’re taken outside. But like I said, Patrick’ll show you the ropes. You met him when you brought the dog in, right?”

Olivia nodded. “Yeah, he’s the one who told me about the volunteer program.”

“Good,” Tess said, nodding. After a short struggle in which she seemed to be deciding whether or not to say something, she added, “You may have picked up on it, but he’s a bit more direct than the average person. Sometimes new volunteers take it personally, but hopefully you won’t. He’s a great guy, just a little different.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I, uh, kind of noticed. He remembers every German shorthaired pointer who’s come through the doors since he started here.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He can’t remember every animal who has passed through our doors anymore, but he’s still pretty spot-on with his favorite breeds. And he’s been here five or six years.”

“That’s impressive. This is my third year teaching if you count my training, and at first I thought I’d never forget a student, but I can see how that’s going to be a challenge the longer I do it.”