She swallowed hard and cleared her throat, which caught the dog’s attention. He brushed his nose across her hand before stepping to the edge of the seat and taking in his new surroundings. He licked his jowls a bit nervously and flattened his tail between his legs. Olivia’s heart might as well be being shoved through a wringer. Even nestled in between the residential and business sections of Webster Groves in a seemingly quiet part of the city, the sights and sounds here would be a far stretch from what the dog was used to. Olivia knew Old Bollinger Road well enough to know that aside from weekend traffic at the river, the dog had had a quiet life, especially alone in a giant backyard with nothing but woods and the river behind it.

She stood straight and cleared her throat determinedly as he jumped out. If she went in teary-eyed, odds were good she’d break down into sobs upon leaving.

“You’re going to get a new home before you know it. And until you do, you’re going to be pampered while you’re here.” Luckily, Olivia’s tone carried the confidence she was hoping to relay to the dog, and the threat of tears abated. For the moment, at least. “I checked out the website; this place is like a Hyatt for dogs. You’ll get walks every day. You’ll even get a fresh blanket to snuggle up with at night. And I’ve seen how you like blankets.”

Proving his level of discomfort by completely ignoring a bird on a branch not that far away, he stepped closer to Olivia.

“It’s going to be okay, bud. There’s even a dog park here somewhere, though something tells me once you settle in, if there are any birds in sight, you won’t care much about playing with the other dogs.” She gave him the most confident pat on the shoulder she could muster. “Here goes nothing.”

He trotted along at her side till they got close to the building, then started to pull backward. He was jerking hard enough that Olivia was panicking he’d slip his collar when the front door jangled open. A guy about her age was in the doorway; his head was cocked to the side as he studied the dog with a serious look on his face.

Olivia attempted to introduce herself as the pointer jerked her away from the entrance. “I’m…Ol—livia Grah—am. I’m here to…”

Without giving her a second of his focus, the guy slipped a small handful of treats from a pocket in his cargo pants and sank into a squat as the door fell closed behind him. He called the dog by making a series of soft clicking sounds with his tongue.