Chapter 2

Rescue me

It was the end of December, ice cold outside and the house was still decked with Christmas trimmings.

Lucas’s dad was watching TV in a rare, over-fed, tired, Christmas pudding-full sort of way.

Janine was ironing in the kitchen - something she loved to do - because she usually ironed to the music of Status Quo and reckoned she could get quite a rhythm going. She could dance at the same time as ironing, so it was fun.

The CD wasn’t over-loud today, at least not by this household’s standards.

“Roll over, lay down and let me in, Roll over it’s a long way where I’ve been. Roll over lay down.”

Yes, Lucas could see there was quite a rhythm going with the iron - back and forth in time to the 12-bar blues.

“Mum,” he said, in that elongated way which makes mums know they are about to be asked for something.

“Uh-huh?” Janine said, as she stopped to place a crisply ironed T shirt over the back of a chair.

“When can we go to the rescue centre?

“You said we could have a dog after Christmas.”

“I told you,” Janine said, “as soon as Christmas is over. Let’s get all the decorations down and have a tidy up first. I can’t face training a dog while we’re surrounded in all this mess.”

She sounded almost like a sensible, conventional mum.

She’s promised Lucas they could go to the local rescue centre, but didn’t think it was right to get a dog during the chaos of Christmas.

“We’ll go next Saturday,” she said. “I’ve spoken to your dad and he said he’ll come with us.”

That was six days away. But Lucas knew his mum never broke a promise. Promises were cast iron.

Six days to wait then. At least he’d have a dog by next week. He didn’t even care what type it was (as long as it didn’t look small and girly).

At 15 years old next month Lucas needed to retain some street cred’.

The next six days seemed an eternity. What with no school during the Christmas holidays, the time passed with long lie-

ins, computer games with Louis and Tom and listening to music - not Alex and Janine’s music, but the latest sounds downloaded from the computer.

Much as Lucas loved new music, he had been brought up on rock and metal sounds, so couldn’t help but like some of his parents’ stuff. He actually sang along to the choruses of classic rock tracks and strummed along to them on his guitar in his bedroom.

His dad used to be in a rock band, so most Friday nights Alex would relive his youth, pounding away to the classics on electric guitar with wannabee singer Janine providing the lyrics.

There were times Lucas would escape to his room. There were other times, if he was in the mood, he’d join in - especially if his mum and dad had their rockin’ mates around.

Lucas would then pound out the bass line while his dad improvised over it, the music getting louder as the night wore on. It was a good job their semi detached had really thick walls.

Every Saturday morning was the same. The house looked as if there had been a party the night before. The house was littered with glasses, bottles, guitar leads, microphones and dried up sandwiches.

But to Lucas, this was the norm’. And his mates loved it, because their homes were so pristine that nothing was allowed out of place and their parents were in bed by 11 at the latest.

Janine kept her promise and six days later they all set out late morning to visit the rescue centre - with Louis and Tom squashed up with Lucas on the back seat of the estate car.

They’d passed the rescue centre many times before, but never been inside.

The car pulled onto the drive of the rescue centre. The air was still freezing cold and as the family got close up to the centre for the first time it looked as bleak and frosty as the weather.

Janine was first out of the car.

“Oh my God, I’m frozen,” she exclaimed.

Despite her husband’s rock image, he was actually a very practical man. He was wearing a jumper, jacket and overcoat. Although they had been together for years, Alex still loved and looked after Janine. He had no hesitation in peeling off

his coat and giving it to ‘Jan’ as he called her. She snuggled gratefully into the coat, stamping her feet and beating her arms across her body to keep out the cold.

The lads leapt out of the car pretending the biting temperatures didn’t affect them at all. They were far too young and macho to admit to feeling the cold.

There were only a handful of other visitors around, one or two leaving with a surprised looking pooch - and another family getting into the car without a dog.

Lucas couldn’t understand why the woman without the dog was in tears.

‘Perhaps had a row with her husband’, he thought.

They walked into the bleak reception area, which was in fact a glorified shed with a desk and worn posters on the wall.

Two teenage girls who worked in reception ignored the family as they approached the desk and continued their conversation about what ‘he said to her’ and ‘she said to him’ and ‘well I told her...’

“We’ve come to look at the dogs,” Alex said, interrupting them.

“Through there,” came the reply from the most unattractive of the pair.

“Just pick one. Seventy pounds,” she said pointing in the direction of the double doors, then got back to her important conversation.

Alex swung the door open and they all trooped into the corridor.

The reason the woman outside had been crying became suddenly obvious. It was difficult to say what hit them first: the smell or the cold.

Janine looked at Alex. Their eyes said it all. There was no need for words.

Lucas and his mates walked ahead, scouring the long line of freezing cells which had concrete floors and little bedding. The dogs leapt at the cell doors, imploring anyone who walked by to save them.

“This is not what I expected,” Janine managed to say.

There was row after row of desperate souls in their freezing prison. There was no heating and no toys or comforts. Any food they had been given had long since been eaten.

Some of the dogs were more scary than needy, throwing themselves at the doors alarmingly. Others sat shivering in inadequate plastic beds.

“Mum!” Lucas called from further along. Louis and Tom were huddled round the same cell door, where Lucas stood transfixed.

One of the kennel staff walked by.

“What about this one?” Lucas asked. “What’s his background.”

“Stray,” she said, without any compassion. “Found wandering. Been here for three months. Ain’t got much going for him.”

But to Lucas, his heart was already taken.

Alex and Janine joined the boys and they all stared into the gloomy cell.

A black and white collie cross stared back at them. There was no life in his eyes and he struggled to fit in the plastic bed which was too small. His dirty blanket had fallen out of his bed and lay screwed up on the concrete floor.

Janine’s breath hung in the cold air. As someone who couldn’t stand the cold she felt as though her heart would break. Not only could she not bear the thought of any creature being cold, she hated to think of any animal lacking basic warmth and comfort.

Lucas did not even want to look at any of the other dogs. He just wanted to get out of the freezing, stinking building - and to take that poor wretch of a dog with him.

“We’ll take this one,” he called to the surly employee.

“He’s a bit scruffy ain’t he?” Tom said.

And he was right.

The dog Lucas had chosen looked as if he had some collie in him somewhere, but there were wild wisps of hair which stood out at odd angles on his face and head, making him look like a cross between a young rebel and an old man.

‘About 3 years old’ was all the note pinned on the cell door said.

“Come here boy,” Lucas called.

The dog looked up, but didn’t even move. He had been in this position many times before. Visitors called him, raised his hopes, then left without him.

“Here boy,” Lucas tried again.

The dog put his head on one side and his ears pricked up. Lucas was in love.

But still the dog didn’t move.

“Can we have this one out?” Lucas asked the surly one.

Without a word or smile she opened the cell door, walked in and clipped a lead to his collar.

She pulled on the lead and the dog reluctantly stood up and walked into the corridor.

“Can I take the lead?” Lucas asked.

It was handed to him without comment.

Lucas knelt to the floor and rubbed the dog’s ears.

“Hello mate. Let’s get out of here,” he whispered.

Lucas gave one look at his mum. She nodded and they all made their way back into reception. Only then did the dog’s eyes come alive. It was a change of scenery and it was a little warmer there at least. There was minimal paperwork to fill out, there was no suggestion of having to wait for a home check, there was no advice and no goodbye cuddles for the dog from the receptionists who just seemed irritated at having their conversation disrupted yet again.

Within minutes the family was back in the car. Alex lifted up the tailgate while Lucas encouraged the dog to jump in, but in the end decided to lift him in gently.

“Put the heater on ‘Lex for Christ’s sake,” Janine said - and he obliged by turning it on full. The whooshing sound enveloped them all like a warm comfort blanket.

Lucas knelt on the back seat, leaning over to stroke his dog - his first ever dog - his very own dog. He was already besotted.

“You are NEVER going to be cold again,” he promised.

“Aaaahh,” Louis said, good-naturedly taking the Mick.

Louis and Tom grinned at each other. Tom felt good spending time with Lucas and his cool mum and dad.

Now they had another buddy, shivering with confusion in the back of the car.

“What you gonna call him?” Louis asked.

“Cuch,” Lucas said, almost embarrassed.

“Mum said I could have a dog if I named it after Michael Landon’s horse.”

“Who the hell is Michael Landon?” Louis asked.

“Some cowboy years ago in a TV show called Bonanza. Mum loved him. Cuch was his horse’s name.”

“What - ‘Crutch’?” Tom asked.

“No, CUCH!” Lucas said.

“Cooch?” Louis asked.

“No, CUCH! Rhymes with BUTCH!” Lucas shouted exasperated.

“Stupid name,” Louis said.

“Michael Landon was the handsomest man in the world,” Janine butted in with a far away look in her eyes.

“He was called Little Joe and his horse was called Cochise, Cuch for short.”

“Stupid name,” Alex agreed.

He had long since given up feeling jealous of Janine’s fantasy icons.

“Cuch,” Lucas called gently to his dog - and it looked at him with devotion in his eyes already (Lucas thought).

“Cuch,” he said again, kind of singing the word to him.

He could have sworn the dog smiled.