Chapter Two

~ Asking for Help ~

 

My dad’s clinic was on the edge of town, but since Serendipity Springs was small, we were there in five minutes, walking quickly. We came up to the small, green, cement block building from the side, so I could see there were four cars in the front parking lot, and Dad’s truck was parked in back. This was good and bad. He was in the office, but there were lots of clients, which meant he was busy. We went in the back door so as not to bother clients and their pets. I sniffed the clinic smell of dogs, cats, medicine and air freshener, and listened to the yipping and the Easy Listening radio station. Some people don’t like the smells and noises, but I’ve been coming here all my life, so I’m used to it.

We found Dad in an exam room, sewing up a cut on a golden retriever pup’s leg. I waved at Sue, his assistant. She was my babysitter when I was little, but now she was just my friend. She had a two year-old and I babysat for her sometimes.

“Hi, Piper. Hi, Addie,” Dad said. “Be with you in a minute.”

“Hey, Dad, we found a pony that’s being mistreated and we need you to help us.”

“A pony? Where?”

“Over in the vacant lot across from the drugstore. Can you come look at it?”

“Later, hon. I won’t have time till tonight.”

“But Dad, it looks really bad.”

“Hold him still, Sue. I’m almost done. There! Now, what about the pony?”

“It’s pitiful looking! It’s hungry and thirsty and isn’t being taken care of. We need you to turn the guy who owns it in for animal neglect.”

“Whoa, Piper.” Dad held up his hands in their bloody exam gloves. “I can’t do anything about it unless I look at the animal. And I have four more clients out front and three farm calls to make after that.”

“But, Dad, we have to take care of it now. She has sores on her legs!”

“Look, Piper, honey, I’m sorry, but I can’t right now. I’ll call you, or come by tonight. Tell your mother I might be over.” My mother didn’t like Dad to just drop by. She had to brush her hair and look in the mirror when she knew he was coming. And she would kill me for telling this to anyone. Dad thought it was because she wanted to straighten up the house, but I knew she wanted to look better since the divorce. She’d lost some weight and lightened her hair, too.

Sue had left the room and now she stuck her head back in.

“Dan, there’s a beagle that just came in that’s having convulsions.”

“Put it in Room 2, Sue. I’m coming. See you later, Piper. Bye, Addie.” Dad picked up the pup and left the room. Addie and I walked out into the parking lot and looked at each other.

“Wow, your dad is really busy. I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up, if I don’t become a marine biologist. But who else can help us?” Addie wondered.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t like to count on adults too much. If we have to, what about your mother?”

“Not mine,” said Addie. “She’s working on a big project that’s late and said not to call her unless I break an arm.” Addie and I had a lot in common, since we were both horse lovers and had divorced parents. We would both start high school this fall. Addie’s dad lived in Wisconsin and she only saw him a few times a year, so I felt lucky that my parents were at least in the same town.

“My mom is still mad at me,” I said, bending over and picking up a penny off the sidewalk. “I think she’ll yell at me about the plates I broke. They were my grandma’s Haviland.” It wasn’t just the plates, although I shouldn’t have tried to juggle them. Mom was really angry that I fibbed about them and generally mad at the world because she was trying to find a job and nobody seemed to be hiring.

“Well, we don’t have a Humane Society in town,” said Addie. “Maybe the sheriff? We have to get help somehow.” So off we hiked to the sheriff’s office. I was kind of frustrated and angry that my dad didn’t have time for us, but the fairness side of my brain reminded me that he really was awfully busy and didn’t know how bad the pony looked.

We sat in the air-conditioned law enforcement office for twenty minutes, waiting for Sheriff Harvey Martin to see us. The office was in the old courthouse on the town square. The jail was right underneath it in the basement, but I don’t think anyone had been in that jail for years. Maybe Stinky Jake would be the one to go there next. The sheriff’s office smelled of century-old wood, dust and Harvey Martin’s cigar.

“Hi, little ladies. What can I do for you today?” said a gravelly voice. Sheriff Martin was tall, thin and old, probably in his forties.

“We want to report a case of animal neglect,” I began.

“Aren’t you a Jones? Doc Jones’s girl?”

“Yes, sir,” I said. Adults always responded better when I was ridiculously polite. “I’m Piper Jones and this is Addie Davis.”

“Just saw your dad yesterday in the coffee shop and asked him about my old yellow lab. How’s your mom doin’? Shame about that divorce. They’re both good people.”

“Thanks, just fine,” I said. Why didn’t people let it go? “Um, we appreciate your time and we want to report a case of animal neglect. That guy giving pony rides across from the drugstore. He’s not taking care of his horse.”

“Animal neglect?” the sheriff said, scratching his neck. “First of all, has it happened more than once? And second, can you prove it?”

Addie and I looked at each other. “Well, you see, sir,” I began, “we just saw the pony today and realized that her owner isn’t taking good care of her, so we—”

“So you decided to come and tell me about it,” he interrupted. His mother evidently hadn’t told him about politeness. “Well, you girls can quit worrying. He’s got a license to give pony rides. Came in and showed me yesterday. I’m watchin’ out for everything that goes on in this town and if that guy breaks any laws, I’ll take care of it. You just go home and try on some makeup, and leave the law up to the grown-ups.” He held the door open for us, so what could we do but leave?

We left the sheriff’s office very discouraged and walked back to the vacant lot where Rosie was tied. We hid behind a green pickup truck parked near the drugstore and peeked around the back of it. The late afternoon shadows had lengthened; the pony was still tied in the sun, without a saddle now, and we couldn’t see any water near her.

“We’ve got to do something, the poor thing,” I said. I was ready to fight the world if I had to, but I hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to Icky Jake again to do it.