She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Was he serious? She was about to ask when she heard a thud followed by a high-pitched yelping. Belle immediately jumped to her feet and raced up the stairs. The yelping became more like a horrible scream.

“Something happened,” Reggie said, following Belle up the stairs to the main floor. “I have to call you back.”

She found her mother on her knees by Burt, who was lying on the floor, screaming in pain.

“I don’t know what happened,” her mother said, wringing her hands. “I think he fell off the sofa. I’ve told your father and told him that we have to be careful with Burt’s back.”

“We need to take him to the vet.”

Leigh pulled her phone out of her pocket. “They’re on my contact list. Call them and let them know we’re coming.” She reached for Burt to pick him up. He screamed when she touched him.

“I can’t do this,” her mother said. “I can’t move him. What do we do?”

Reggie grabbed an old blanket from the back of the sofa. Belle hovered, whining softly. Burt continued to yelp.

Once the blanket was next to the poor dog, Leigh was able to shift him onto it. He screamed several times, but never tried to bite her. Reggie’s stomach was a mess as she called the vet and said they were on their way. They got coats and gloves. Belle began to bark, as if protesting she couldn’t possibly be left behind.

“You have to be brave,” Reggie told her as she hurried back to Burt. “Please, Belle.”

Her dog sat down but continued to whine steadily.

Reggie and her mom each took an end of the blanket.

“On three,” Leigh said, then counted. They lifted him together. He yelped loudly, then settled down to moans and heavy panting. After carefully setting him in the back seat of Reggie’s SUV, they got in the vehicle. Leigh sat next to him, patting his face.

“It’s okay, little guy. You’re going to be fine.” She wiped away tears. “I have to tell your dad what happened.”

“Let’s wait until we’re at the vet,” Reggie said, driving across town and pulling into the parking lot. “You can call while he’s being examined.”

They got him inside on the blanket. A tech was waiting to show them into one of the examination rooms.

Two hours later, they carried a very drugged Burt back to the car. According to his vet, his fall hadn’t broken anything, and none of his disks had ruptured. Burt had soft tissue damage and would need time to recover.