“I thought about osteosarcoma the minute his owner mentioned the joint being so extremely tender. An X-ray confirmed my suspicions. A tumor of that sort doesn’t cross the joint space and invade other bones. It’s a gradual expansion in the joint where it’s found, destroying the bone from the inside out and causing excruciating pain. On the views I took, it looked like the bone had been eaten away. The dog couldn’t be saved. That’s the long and short of it. I knew the fellow was upset, but I gave him my best advice and that was to spare the animal further suffering.”

“The man’s name was P. F. Sanchez. The dog belonged to his deceased son.”

“I see. Well, that’s a sad situation that could pile misery upon misery. It’s hard enough having to put an animal down, regardless of the circumstances, but when the dog belongs to a child you’ve lost . . .” He let the sentence trail off.

“What would have happened to the dog after he was put down?”

“County animal control picked up the remains and disposed of them. We’d place the body in a canvas bag that we left in a storage shed out back. This was a wooden contraption that could be opened from either side. I don’t know how things are handled these days. I believe with recent budget cuts, the county has discontinued the pickup service and it’s up to the individual veterinarian to deliver the remains to the animal control facility. Whatever the procedure, the animals are incinerated. That much is the same. I would have assumed that was Ulf’s fate until you told me otherwise.”

“Did the county make daily sweeps?”

He shook his head. “We called when we had a pickup and they’d be there by the end of the business day.”

“Did you ever have reason to bury the remains yourself?”

“No. I understand the desire to bury a pet in the backyard, but I wouldn’t have taken it upon myself. The animal wasn’t mine.”

“Would you know if the county kept a record of pickups?”

“There wouldn’t have been any reason to. We had a form the pet owner signed, giving permission for an animal to be euthanized. Sometimes the owner would ask us to return the ashes and sometimes animal control was asked to dispose of them. I can’t imagine why that would be subject to dispute.”

“No, no. There’s no dispute,” I said. “Sanchez told me he gave you authorization by phone.”

“I don’t remember his doing so, but that sounds right.”

“What about your records?”