Chapter 7

 

The fuss seemed to be about the price of an item on the man’s check, but Paula just smiled and told Madison to ring up the lower charge. I wiped my mouth with the paper napkin and glanced out the window. I’d completely forgotten to keep my eye on the car and the dog, although I had saved him a small bit of sandwich.

Paddy was poking his nose out of the window and scratching at it. His tongue was hanging from one side of his mouth. Suddenly, I felt very guilty at being such an inexperienced dog owner. Without wasting another minute, I headed for the register.

“How was everything?” Madison asked apprehensively.

“Just fine. Could I have some water to go, and maybe some kind of plastic dish? My dog is in the car, and I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything for him to drink.”

She quickly brought some water in a plastic cup with a styrofoam soup bowl inverted over the top. I paid my tab, and hurried to the car. Gallon jug of water and a dish, I added to my mental list. It only took a minute to unlock the car and Paddy jumped out so fast I couldn’t catch his leash. But it was all right, because he was only interested in the water, which he lapped up as fast as I could pour it into the small bowl. I easily picked up the end of the leash, and took him for a short walk under the trees at the back of the parking lot. Plastic bags for dog-doo duty, I mused. I’d need a crate to store all this stuff; it was as bad as having an infant.

I knew from seeing their ads in the Cherry Hill Herald that there was a good-sized pet store in Emily City. I decided this was going to be my next stop. Paddy seemed ready to forgive me for letting him get thirsty, since he jumped back in the car with no hesitation. We drove on down the street. Sheep Ranch Road had become 14-Mile Road as soon as we entered Sturgeon County, and then had changed into Main Street at the Waabishki city limit. That seemed to just continue and blend into Emily City with a few box stores and fast food places strung along the way. I easily spotted Fur and Fins on the left and pulled into their spacious parking lot. There was no place in the shade at all. I wondered if the pet store allowed pets, and decided to give it a try.

Paddy was obviously happy to be invited to go with me this time, and we approached the glass doors which slid quietly to the sides. Immediately I was greeted by a cheerful young man.

“Welcome! Bring your dog right in. We always like to meet our customers.” He bent to give Paddy a pat on the head. “Sit.”

Paddy sat. I was impressed. He didn’t always pay attention to me when I gave him commands. The man gave Paddy a small treat.

“His name’s Paddy,” I offered.

“Shake, Paddy. My name’s Brad.”

Paddy grinned and thumped his tail on the floor. The young man lifted Paddy’s paw and shook it, then gave him another tidbit. After two more tries, Paddy had the game down pat. The man turned to me.

“Since we can’t usually get the customers to speak English, even when they are as intelligent as Paddy, I’ll have to ask you what he would like today.”

I admitted I was nearly clueless about dog care. The truth is we had owned a cockapoo when my son, Chad, was small, but I’d never dealt with a large dog in my life. Chad was now a junior at Michigan Tech, but was spending the summer on Isle Royale.

“Since I’m going to have to take him with me a lot, I need all kinds of things to keep in the car,” I said. Paddy, Brad and I walked the aisles and filled a basket. I was intrigued to discover that there were collapsible water bowls made of treated fabric that wouldn’t take up a lot of room. A dispenser for plastic bags that fastened on the leash looked very handy. I bought cable and a lead to set up an outside line run. Of course I couldn’t resist a couple more toys. Brad suggested ones that would withstand the chewing power of a large dog, and when he cocked his head and held out a book called Training Your Large Puppy, I nodded, and it was added to the basket. Two bags of small training treats went in next, and Brad carried a fifty-pound bag of food to the checkout for me.

While I was pulling out my wallet, I noticed a sign on the counter, “Dog-sitting while you shop - $8 an hour.”

“Really?” I asked. Rather a silly question, since they wouldn’t post a sign for a service they didn’t offer.

“Sure. We have a big grassy area in back, all fenced, with a couple of kennels if we get visitors that don’t want to play nicely with each other. It not only helps you, but it’s good for socializing the dogs, too.”

“Do I need an appointment?”

“Nope. It’s strictly a drop-off service. Of course you have to pick the dog up before we close at eight p.m.”

“I’d just like time to go to the fabric store.”

“We can do that. You need to fill out this form,” Brad said, reaching around me beneath the counter. “Abby can help you now. She’ll check his tag for a current rabies shot,” he added, turning me over to the woman running the cash register.

In a few minutes I had pre-paid for an hour of dog-sitting, and was about $80.00 poorer all together, but feeling much better about doing the other errand I hoped to complete. It was a relief to me that the dog seemed happy to go with almost anyone who would pay attention to him. I stroked Paddy’s red head, looked deep into his brown eyes and told him I’d be back soon. His standard answer was a lick and a tail wag, after which he let Brad lead him toward the back door.

I asked for directions to a fabric store, and fortunately Abby knew exactly how to get to one. After my purchases were stowed in the Jeep, I drove away and found the store with no trouble. Most of my hour of freedom was spent wandering between racks of fabric bolts, feeling the material. There were a couple of shades of blue that I liked, and I held them against a barn-red colonial print to see how they would look together. There was some gauzy white material that might look nice with those choices, too. However, I finally realized that I didn’t have a good enough idea, yet, to make a decision about the kind of curtains or drapes I wanted. Still, it was fun looking and getting ideas.

I returned for Paddy just before my hour was up. He was as happy to see me as he had been to go with Brad, so apparently I hadn’t slipped a notch in his estimation. But it was only three-fifteen. I still needed to kill some time before returning home. It was Thursday, and the construction crew would be working only one more day before the weekend, but I had already heard all the hammering I needed for the week. Also, I wasn’t eager to spend the rest of that day inside the house with a large machine swinging its arm around the windows and over my head as it lifted trusses.

“Let’s explore the long way home,” I said to Paddy, as I opened the front door of the Jeep for him. He jumped in and turned so he could look out the window even before I was able to shut the door.