The high volume of food the shelter went through each week always amazed Jill, but knowing the shelter stayed at or close to full capacity every day, it made sense. After she dropped the last bag of dog food onto the waist-high pile, she stretched her back. The dull ache signaled that she’d done a fair amount of work in the hour since she’d arrived and that she wasn’t getting any younger. Another thought for another day.

She lifted the front of her shirt and wiped her forehead, taking a couple of slow, deep breaths to calm her heart rate and her breathing. She grabbed a drink of water at the fountain before returning to Stacey. “Who can I walk today? I’ve only got time for one.”

“Well, hello to you, too,” Stacey replied with a huff. She looked at a paper taped to the wall behind her desk, dragging her finger down the list of dogs in the back and the last time they had been walked. “Take Haley. Cage eleven. She’s a small pit and lab mix. Just arrived this morning.”

“Got it.”

She could hear them as she approached the kennels, and as soon as she opened the door, the sound increased tenfold. Dozens of distinct barks reverberated against the walls. She moved along the aisle between the cages. She frowned as she noticed that Star and Korie were still here. She had walked both of them the last time she had volunteered.

Jill stopped in front of number eleven. Kneeling down, the sight in front of her made her take in a quick breath. It wasn’t a surprising sight, but a heartbreaking one.

Haley was black with small patches of white on her paws and a larger patch down the center of her chest. She sat in the back corner of the cage, quiet and scared. She looked at Jill but she didn’t move.

Jill flattened her hand against the front of the cage. “Hey there, pretty girl. Want to take a walk?”

Haley’s ears perked up but she stayed in the same spot.

Jill unlatched the door, kneeling at the entrance and holding out her overturned hand for Haley to sniff. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” she said in a calm, low voice as she kept her eyes averted.

The tip of Haley’s tail beat against the tile floor once and then a second time. Out of her periphery, Reagan noticed Haley’s nostrils flare with tentative sniffs. Haley stood and took two small steps forward, which was enough to cover the distance between her and Jill. She continued to sniff her hand and then nudged it.