Keenan's Forever Love

Chapter 1

Keenan’s Forever Love

By Terry O’Reilly

“Good morning, Dr. Hunter—and to you, too, Tripod,” Penny, manager of Cherry Creek Animal Hospital and Rescue Center, sang out as the head veterinarian, Keenan Hunter, came into the front office. He was carrying his little, three-legged Yorkie, which he placed on the counter. “How are you this morning?” Penny cheerily continued as she petted the little dog.

“Are you asking me or Tripod?” the smiling doctor asked.

“Both,” Penny replied without looking up from loving on the little animal. Tripod fairly vibrated with glee at the attention.

“We’re both fine.”

“How was your weekend?”

The man’s smile faded. He suppressed a sigh. “It was okay.”

Frowning, Penny turned her attention from Tripod to her boss.

“What did you do that was just okay?”

Keenan pasted the smile back on his face. “Tripod had a weekend with his bestie, Olaf, the St. Bernard who lives next door, and I…I went to a wedding.”

“Oh, I love weddings—friends or family?” she asked, smiling once more.

“Some friends of mine.”

“I bet you had a good time.”

It was just peachy, he thought sarcastically. But he said, “It was nice.”

Attempting to change the subject before Penny could ask for details about the wedding, Keenan quickly asked, “What have you got for us today?”

Penny turned her attention to a pile of papers. “We took in ten dogs and five cats. The cats were all from the same rescue. Older lady with a medical emergency. Her family surrendered them. They felt it was time for her to go to a nursing home. All need exams and spaying or neutering—three female, two male. No record of shots.”

Keenan nodded and took the paperwork from her. After looking it over, he asked, “The dogs?”

“Two owner surrenders—both mixed breeds.”

“Why were they surrendered?”

“Um…this one says, boxer-mastiff mix, too much for the family. They have small children and live in an apartment. They didn’t expect the dog to get so big when they bought it as a puppy.”

Keenan shook his head. “Why don’t these people think about the kind of dog they’re getting and their circumstances when they decide to have a pet?”

Penny nodded in agreement as she sifted through the papers. “The other…let’s see…oh, yeah. The family was moving out of town and couldn’t…didn’t want to take the dog.”

Keenan frowned. “So much for I’m your forever dog…until I’m an inconvenience.”

Penny sighed and shook her head. “Right! But it does look like they were well cared for. Both were spayed and have complete medical records.” She held the records out to Keenan.

He looked over the proffered papers. “Well, at least that says something for the owners.”

“The rest were brought in as strays by private citizens or animal control.” Penny began shuffling through the papers again, handing her boss each as she finished. “No records on any of them, but three have tags and microchips. I’ll call the owners.”

“Let me have physicals done on them first.”

Penny nodded, then went on. “The rest include a pregnant female, lab mix. One, a female, has a bad flea infestation, she’s limping, and has some sort of eye infection. The others are apparently in fair shape, all seem undernourished, but not starving, but all need fixing, two males and two females. That’s about it for the rescues. There’s a pretty full schedule of regular appointments for the hospital today as well.”

Penny gave Keenan a printout of the appointments. He looked it over. “Okay. Tell Dr. James and Dr. Stanton I want to see them as soon as they get in. I’ll be in my office.” He turned to leave.

“Don’t forget the mail,” Penny reminded him.

He turned back, and Penny handed him a stack of letters.

“Oh, and there’s a fourth grade class coming for a field trip this morning. If you want to lead the tour and give your adopt-a-pet speech, I’ll let you know when they get here.”

“Um…I don’t know. If it wasn’t Monday…I’ve got so much to take care of…I guess I’ll skip it. Get someone else to do it, will you?”

“Sure. I’ll call one of the volunteers.”

He took the stack of mail, put it with the other papers, and then picked up Tripod. Penny gave the little dog a ‘so long’ scratch behind the ears. The two humans wished each other a good day, Tripod gave Penny a lick on the nose, and Keenan left the office. He was glad for the busy day which would take his mind off the weekend and the wedding.

He walked through the rescue dog kennel on his way to his office, greeting staff and stopping to talk to and pet dogs in their cages along the way. It was evident to Keenan from the way he was welcomed by both the canines and humans he was well-liked and respected.

When he got to his office, he left the door ajar for Dr. Stanton and Dr. James, and sat down behind his desk, setting Tripod on top. The pup immediately curled up on his pillow on one corner for his morning nap.

Keenan started sorting through the mail. He came to a squarish envelope. It was addressed to him in fancy calligraphy. He knew what it contained at once. Opening it, his suspicions were confirmed—another wedding invitation. This one was from one of the rescue’s volunteers. Sighing, he put it aside, knowing he couldn’t avoid going. As the boss, his attendance would be mandatory. Volunteers were the lifeblood of the shelter. So, like it or not, he would go.

It wasn’t that he was against marriage or weddings per se. It was just whenever he went to one, they brought up many unpleasant memories from years ago, memories he preferred not to relive.

He began looking over the paperwork Penny had given him, immersing himself in his work. Soon, any lingering thoughts about the weekend and this latest wedding invitation receded. His good humor returned, and he began to plan the day for himself and his staff.