Sara couldn’t wait to tell Ashlundt the good news. We burst straight into his home office. “Honey, we did it! Luke’s a therapy dog!”
Ashlundt looked up from behind his desk and flashed her a toothy smile. “Congratulations,” he offered in a low voice and patted me on the head. “Good job, Luke.”
“Yes, it’s exciting. We practiced a whole lot to make this happen. And you should have seen Luke. You would’ve been so proud. He was perfectly obedient… well except for when they put the food out.” She danced around me in a display of happiness.
Ashlundt laughed at that. “Luke’s such a chow hound. He probably gets it from me.”
Sara seemed anxious to tell him more, but he had already gone back to organizing some paperwork.
“Hey, don’t you want to hear all about it?” She moved closer to his desk. “I tried to call you. What’s so important you can’t talk to us for a minute?”
Ashlundt dropped a stack of pages on his desk, then looked back up at Sara. “Sorry. Just need to finish up this new client interview. You can tell me about it at dinner, okay?”
I had begun to notice that Ashlundt seemed somewhat distracted once and awhile again. It didn’t make much sense to me. He and Sara were now happily together. Ashlundt’s practice was back to being busy. I couldn’t understand his occasional uneven behavior. I hoped everything was all right.
Sara shrugged it off and took me out for a rewarding long walk in the woods. I worried as we left, but then was soon distracted by the smells and sounds of the forest.
********
Our identification cards and vests arrived in the mail fifteen evening meals later. Sara signed me up with Northridge Hospital, a short drive from our house, for our initial visit. “Just twenty minutes from here, Lukey,” Sara assured me. As if I was counting.
The next morning, Sara gave me a thorough scrubbing with baby shampoo so that I would look and smell my best. I didn’t realize this was going to be part of the deal before each visit, but I guessed there had to be good and bad with any job.
I was a little nervous as we drove to the hospital that afternoon for my first day. I wanted to help sick people, just like Ashlundt had helped Sara get better when she was recovering from her surgery. I hoped I could do a good job and make people happy. But unlike Ashlundt, I couldn’t cook people breakfast, do their laundry or dispense their medication. What tasks lay ahead for me were unclear.
We parked in the visitor parking lot and went into the newly redecorated facility. I could smell the fresh glue holding up the new wallpaper. The scent of newly installed carpet was overpowering. The lobby was decorated with real plants and had a large painting of an angel as we entered. A lot of men and women were sitting in leather chairs. One woman appeared to be showing her husband a small Teddy Bear that she’d found in the gift shop. It made me think of my bear at home. I wished I’d brought it to show the sick people in the hospital. We were directed to an office on the ground floor.
The TDI administrator at the hospital was a warm and vivacious redhead who read our nametags, then introduced herself. “Luke. Sara. Hi, I’m Rita. Thanks for visiting.” She immediately pulled a Milk Bone treat from her apron pouch and tossed it straight into my mouth. She was all right in my book.
Sara and I were led to a nurses’ station to get our room assignments for visitations that day. “The nurses always make the recommendations on who the therapy dogs should visit,” Rita told Sara. A trio of older nurses stopped by at the desk. They seemed to be immediately taken with me. I got a lot of loving… and even a teaspoon of peanut butter! I was going to like this job.
Four patients were suggested for visits that first day. The first was Victor, a little boy who had sustained two broken legs and other multiple injuries in a car accident. We peeked inside the room. His legs were in casts, and he squirmed in great discomfort. His young mother was by his bedside trying to soothe him. When he saw me, his mouth broke into a huge grin.
“Hi, Victor.” Sara stepped up to Victor’s bedside. “This is Luke. He’s here to visit with you. Do you like dogs?”
Victor laughed and smiled “Yes!”
Sara pushed a chair next to the bed and told me to sit in it. I climbed up next to Victor so that he could pet me, but he wasn’t able to reach my body. His legs were suspended in an upright position. He just couldn’t move over far enough to his left.
Turning to Victor’s mother, Sara asked, “Would it be all right if I put a sheet on the bed so that Luke can lie next to him? He’d be much easier to reach.”
“Absolutely,” the mother consented. “Just be careful. He’s very uncomfortable.”
Sara ducked into a large closet in the corner of the room. She returned moments later with a folded white sheet. She spread it out on the bed and patted the sheet. I gently crawled next to him so he could wrap his arms around me. I was a little nervous that even the slightest nudge in the wrong direction might hurt this injured boy. I needn’t have worried.
“Wow! That is amazing,” his mother hugged herself in excitement. He’s been here for three weeks. Been so miserable till now. That’s the first time he’s smiled since he woke up from the accident.”
I felt the boy’s happiness at having me to distract his pain. I quietly licked his hands, and Victor giggled constantly murmuring, “Furry doggie. Good boy.”
Sara was right; helping others was definitely going to help me cope with my impending blindness. If just my mere presence could make this boy with broken legs so happy, it seemed the possibilities were endless.
We stayed with him for thirty minutes until a nurse walked in to administer Victor’s pain medication. “C’mon Luke. Time to go,” Sara prodded. It was time to move on to the next patient.
We rode up in a crowded elevator to the fifth floor. This group of rooms had very different kinds of people inside. These folks weren’t injured like Victor. They were suffering from a variety of serious illnesses. Illnesses I could smell from the moment the elevator doors opened.
We entered room 509. There was a woman sitting up in bed, watching The Price Is Right on TV. I knew that show well because the host, Bob Barker, was always saying something about spaying and neutering your pets at the end of the show. Ouch! I wasn’t his biggest fan, but then again, I wasn’t here to watch TV.
“Luke, this is Betty,” Sara said. “Be gentle with her. She has a very aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis.” Sara then turned to the grey haired woman and asked if she wanted company. The woman immediately began to cry.
“I’m sorry. I’m in so much pain. Can’t move my entire right side. Feels like my arm and leg are on fire, but please bring him closer.”
“Would you like for him to lie next to you on the bed?”
“Yes, please. That would really help.”
Sara again went to a corner closet and returned with a white sheet. After it was in place next to Betty on the bed, she positioned me with the patient, placing my head on her left shoulder. Her tears soon faded to smiles. “He’s so beautiful and kind.”
I didn’t know it then, but this was actually my first of many visits to Betty over the course of several months. As her illness got worse, she lost her ability to even smile. Tears of joy would be the only clue I had that she was glad to see me.
My head is filled with stories of that first day. The little girl who was crying in agony until I sat with her and let her groom me with her hair brush. The bald teenaged boy who had been rushed to the hospital because of a bad reaction to his chemotherapy. I sat next to him in a chair and caught a small rubber ball in my mouth over and over. I walked away that day understanding what Sara meant about how helping others would be therapy for me. I was born to do this.
We started to go every Thursday afternoon to visit patients in various hospitals. One day at Northridge, Sara told me we were going to meet an elderly patient named Julia. When we entered the brightly lit room, I could see an elderly woman with white silver hair sitting in a wheel chair. She smelled of lilacs. Many of her friends surrounded her. One was a handsome elderly gentleman in a three-piece suit. Another was a middle-aged woman in a sweat suit that resembled the patient. Perhaps, she was a daughter. Another was a younger woman in jeans and a blouse. I thought perhaps a granddaughter.
Sara and I approached Julia, and Sara began talking. “Hello, Julia. This is Luke. He’s a Labrador Retriever and a therapy dog. Would you like him to visit with you today?”
“No, go away!” She spat at us. ”Don’t touch me.”
She wouldn’t let me near her. I felt confused and didn’t know what I’d done to offend her.
“I’m sorry.” Sara nodded in apology. “We’ll go.”
We left, but I kept thinking about Julia all week. Why was Julia mad at me? Why didn’t she want to meet me? Had I done something wrong? On our next visit, I hoped we could try again, but instead the hospital staff asked us to pay a visit to the Emergency Room. One of the nurses kept calling it “the ER.”
I was surprised at how small the waiting room was. About twenty chairs lined the walls with two rows of seats back-to-back in the middle of the room. Every one of them was occupied. People were coughing, holding their heads or running back and forth to the bathroom. One older woman with her hand wrapped in a bloody cloth was surrounded by three children. The air was full of concern and fear. The nurse attendant at the registration counter asked us to wait so that she could get a list of beds for us to visit in the medical area. But, before she could return, I was quickly surrounded by the three young children, a boy and two girls, who had accompanied their grandmother.
“Hey, what’s your dog’s name lady?”
“His name is Luke. He’s a therapy dog. What are your names?” Sara asked in a soothing voice.
“I’m Diesel.” The boy looked about six and had dark hair and freckles. He smelled like a playground full of sand.
“I’m Laurel.” The taller girl looked to be about eight and had long blonde hair and beautiful light eyes. She smelled of bubble gum. She took a comb out of her pocketbook and started grooming me while popping off pink bubbles.
“My name’s Munchie. I like doggies.” This from a short three-year-old girl with sandy hair and dark eyes. She smelled of urine and baby powder. She joined her sister in the grooming process, though she was a bit rough on my tail. I wanted to bark at her to stop yanking, but I didn’t want to startle all the kids. Instead, I just wagged my tail and licked their hands.
“My grandma cut herself while she was making lunch. Her finger is bleeding,” Diesel explained. “Wrapped it up with one of Munchie’s old diapers.”
“Oh, no!” Sara exclaimed. “Do you need us to stay with you while she gets it fixed?”
“Naw,” Laurel stopped her grooming to add to the story. “Our mom is on the way. I have a cell phone if we need anything.”
“A cell phone? At your age?” Sara laughed, and at that moment the kids abandoned us and ran to an attractive woman in her thirties who rushed through the automatic ER doors.
“Mommy, mommy,” the kids shouted. The woman bent down and hugged the children, then quickly raced over to grandma.
“Uh, Mrs. Jaynes. We’re ready in the back for you and Luke,” a nurse attendant called out. She motioned for us to follow her into a room full of flimsy beds and gurneys, some of them hidden by curtains.
We saw three patients with broken bones, and a woman who had been bitten by a black widow spider. But, my thoughts kept returning to that older woman, Julia. I just couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to see me. Especially when everyone else seemed delighted to play with me.
It was getting late. Sara excused us and headed for the outer emergency department exit. She stopped and let go of my leash to dig out her keys from her purse. I looked back down the connecting hall to what I thought was the main part of the hospital. Hmmn! I thought. Maybe I could just sneak back inside for a few minutes and find out what the deal was with that lady.
Backing up, I turned and trotted down the hall. Through my fuzzy haze, I discovered what appeared to be a bank of elevators. They reminded me of the ones in the UCLA Medical Center when we went to find Sara. Soon, I was in full gallop, dragging my leash behind me.
By the time Sara realized that I’d taken off, I was already halfway across the room. “Luke, come on. We need to get home,” she called out to me. I have to make dinner. Where are you going?” Sara wasn’t running, but she had begun to walk in my direction.
I paused for a moment and turned around in the direction of Sara’s voice. Then, I turned back to look at the shinny metal elevator doors, then back to Sara.
“What is it? What do you want?” Sara had nearly caught up to me and was shrugging her shoulders in confusion.
A loud ding rung out and a green light shaped like an arrow lit up above the elevator. A set of double doors magically opened by themselves. The compartment appeared empty, so I stepped inside. Sara followed. I couldn’t remember the floor Julia was on, so I looked at Sara and whimpered.
“What is it? Do you want more peanut butter? Is that it?” She looked at me with her palms upward to question me.
I barked because I knew that I was headed in the right direction. Or, at least I thought I was.
Sara joined me in the elevator, and the doors shut and up we went one floor. When the door opened, a number of people got on with us. Sara bent down and whispered, “Is this where you want to go?”
I didn’t move a muscle. An older bald-headed man pushed the button for the fifth floor. When the doors opened, everyone got off. I took a whiff of the air and knew I’d found the place. With a muffled “ruff,” I stepped off the elevator. Sara followed reluctantly.
I trotted down the hall toward what I thought was Julia’s room.
“Luke, wait! Where are you going?” Sara tried to catch up with me.
I stopped short of the room and glanced up at the patient name plate on the wall. It looked fuzzy, but Sara would know if it was right.
“Oh, so that’s it.” Sara knelt next to me. “You want to see the patient that wouldn’t let you visit last week. Well, I gotta warn you. She may not let us in again. We’ll try. Wait here.”
Sara stuck her head around the corner. I sat panting by the doorway.
“Hello, Julia. My name is Sara Jaynes. My therapy dog Luke and I tried to see you last week.”
A labored voice struggled to answer. It was full of kindness and apology today, though. “Yes, I remember. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just… well, I’m blind. Can’t really see him, you know?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. The nurse didn’t tell us.”
“That’s all right,” the older woman answered. “It’s not like that’s one of my best features, or anything.” She laughed as the words left her lips.
”Well, Ms. Julia, I should tell you that you and my dog Luke have something in common. He’s losing his eye sight and learning to feel his way around strange places and cope with it all.”
“Really? A blind dog? Poor thing.” She was quiet for a moment, then sat up in her chair. “Please, can you bring him to me? I’d like to touch him.”
Sara picked up my leash and brought me into the room. “C’mon, boy. You got your wish.”
As soon as I reached the side of Julia’s wheelchair, she began to feel my face, then ran her hands the entire length of my body. “Arthur was my dog. He was so soft and furry. Lived to be about twelve, or so. Such a loyal soul. I miss him. It hurts to remember him now.”
“I understand how you feel, Julia. Luke is such an important part of my world. Don’t know what I’d do without him,” Sara sat on a stool close to Julia’s wheelchair.
“Oh, my, Sara, he’s such a big, beautiful dog.” Julia immediately embraced my large head and began to cry. I could feel her tears on my head. Carefully, I placed one paw and then the other on the side of her armrest and lifted my front legs to hover over her lap. Her tears became laughter, and she began to talk to me.
“What a funny boy you are! I love Luke’s personality. Tell me about him, Sara.”
Sara chuckled. “Well, he’s four years old. He was a birthday present for my husband Ash. He’s the smartest dog I’ve ever known. He even led me back to you just now if you can believe it. I think he really wanted to meet you.”
“Is that right? Well, Luke, I’m mighty proud to meet you.” Julia started scratching me behind my ears. She picked the perfect spot.
“I’m sorry to cut this short, Julia. The thing is, we were just about out the door when Luke decided to come back up and see you. We really need to get home now, but we’d love to see you again sometime soon. May we come back and visit you next week?”
Julia sighed. The scratching behind my ears abruptly ceased. I took that as my cue to return my front paws to the floor.
“I’ll be upset if you don’t, Sara. Goodbye, Luke. See you soon, even if I can’t really see.”
I decided to give her a proper goodbye. I leaped back up with my front paws on her armrests. Then, I gave her face a good washing. I think she had been eating apple sauce before we got there, because I could still taste it off her cheeks.
Julia began to laugh. “Whoa… he he, okay, thanks Luke. That’ll do.” She laughed some more. “My, I haven’t giggled like that in what seems like years!”
“I’m sorry, Julia. Luke shouldn’t have been so aggressive with you.” Sara touched the woman’s hand. Are you all right?”
“No, no, Sara. I loved every second of it, and I’m fine.” Julia waved goodbye.
As we left, I somehow knew that Julia was going to be important to me. I think Sara sensed it as well. This would be the first of many visits to come.
********
Sara drove us home quickly with no stops. We went immediately into the kitchen to prepare dinner. “Hey, Ash,” she called out. “We’re home. In the kitchen.”
“Be there in a sec,” he yelled back from his office.
Sara quickly fixed my kibble, mixing it with some grated cheese and chopped chicken. I gobbled it down while she rattled the pots and pans. She seemed frustrated.
“What’s all the noise in here?” Ashlundt sauntered in. “What’re we having?”
“Pasta with Pesto, salad, garlic bread,” She shouted back. All this shouting over the bubbling water and sizzling frying pan was hurting my ears.
“Sounds good.”
“Yeah, I’m running late. Got held up at the hospital.”
“Hey, babe, there’s no rush. Slow down.” He patted his stomach. “I might need to work out after all those carbs.”
I barked aloud once, volunteering to help with the workout if it meant us going for a long walk.
Ashlundt bent down and patted me on the back. Then, he looked back at Sara, flashing a puzzled expression. “Oh, by the way, I’ve been trying to get hold of Luke’s breeder, but I just get voice mail. Been trying to call him for weeks.”
“Why?” She stopped in mid stir and looked at him. “What’s the deal?”
“Well, I wanna find out the background on Luke’s parents. See what caused his loss of eyesight. You know, make sure that everything is on the up-and-up.” He patted my head lightly once again.
Sara stopped and turned to him. “But why, Ash? It won’t change anything.”
“No, but I want to talk to him. Got a lot of questions for him. It won’t bring back Luke’s sight, but it might give me some satisfaction.”
“Ash, I hope you aren’t going to beat the man up over the phone about this.” Sara’s face appeared a bit twisted in worry.
Ashlundt scratched his head. “Well, no. Not beat him up. I just want to know who’s responsible.”
“But you aren’t. Isn’t that all that matters? Look, Ash, it would be more of a help to me if you participated a little more with helping Luke get ready for the lights to go out. Is that too much to ask? Priorities, you know?” She turned back to the stove.
He moved closer to her. “No, no. Look, I understand. It’s just… I’ve just been really busy, Sara. You said you’d handle the therapy dog thing. And I’m sure you’re doing a great job with it.”
Sara dropped the wooden spoon on the counter and turned to face Ashlundt. “I don’t think you get it. That’s not what I mean. I wanted to talk to you about this over dinner.”
Ashlundt shrugged his shoulders. “Then what do you mean?”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Sara was sounding upset. “You think this is about the volunteer work? Are you serious? No, you really don’t have a clue, do you?”
Ashlundt stood silent for about a minute, staring down at the floor. I could smell his anger coming to a boil, but I also sensed that he was trying to contain it. He let out a deep sigh. “Okay, Sara. Fine. I guess I don’t get it. I thought I was helping with my best effort. But if that’s not good enough…” He stomped out of the kitchen and headed back into his office, calling over his shoulder, “Just call me when dinner’s ready.”
They ate in silence that night. Sara didn’t discuss what had been on her mind, and I realized that I had witnessed their first argument since their wedding.
********
Sara and I asked to visit Julia the following week. We had a promise to keep.
“She’s not doing very well today, Sara.” The nurse on duty Sara called Caroline gave me a nice teaspoon of peanut butter. “She had a rough night. Did you know that she’s in her nineties?”
Sara moved closer to Caroline as if to whisper a secret. “You’re kidding. She doesn’t look that old. Wrinkled yes, but that hair; it’s so white and curly. And she has impressive bone structure, don’t you think?”
“Yes, she’s amazing,” Caroline agreed. “But she’s in congestive heart failure. Even the slightest exertion is exhausting for her. Keep that in mind when you’re with her. Keep your visit short today.”
“Is she… dying?” Sara ventured this question with trepidation in her voice.
“It’s not great. At the rate she’s going, it won’t be very long. A month or two at the most. But, you never know.”
My heart leaped in my chest. It hurt to hear that I might lose this new friend so quickly. I hoped that the nurse’s prediction was wrong.
Sara led me to Julia’s room. “Hi, Julia. It’s Luke and Sara. We’ve come by to see how you’re doing.” Sara held me back, probably so that I wouldn’t jump into bed with Julia and startle her after the instructions that Caroline had just given.
Julia’s voice was even more shaky. “Good morning, Sa- Sara. Hello, Luke. Come in you two. Tell me all about your week. Sor - Sorry I’m not up in my chair.”
Sara glanced around the small room. She spotted a chair in the corner and pulled it next to the bed. I hopped up to the bed level, leaned in slowly, then covered Julia’s fragile face with gentle kisses.
“I’m so glad you could make it.” Julia patted her hand on her bed, gesturing for me to come up on the bed with her.”
I wanted to climb right in and snuggle with her, but I knew the drill. I waited for Sara to find a white sheet in the closet and spread it down on the bed. Next, Sara guided me up to the bed and gently took Julia’s hand to let her know that we were alongside her. I felt Julia’s entire body relax with the comfort I brought her. Her voice became steadier.
“So, Luke,” Julia began, “are you finding your way around pretty well?” She moved her jittery hands across my back until she found my face. “Well, let me tell you, dear boy, about the good and the bad of losing your sight.”
I gave a soft, muffled bark to acknowledge that Julia was speaking to me. I then leaned forward and licked what tasted like vanilla pudding off the corner of her mouth.
Julia giggled. “Luke, my friend, you will miss the loss of the faces that you love the most. You’ll regret not being able to see the beauty of a summer day, or the trees as they sway in the breeze, or watching children playing.” She squirmed a bit, attempting to sit upright in the bed. “But you will gain so many delightful things. I can only imagine how well you can smell, but your ability… it will be so intensified. Sounds will be so crystal clear to you. You’ll notice every sound, all at once. The pleasure of a warm touch is exquisite, my furry one. You’ll revel in all the things we take for granted when we can see.” She sighed as she stroked my head.
I laid my face against her thin shoulder and exhaled heavily. The way Julia described blindness, it didn’t really sound so terrible at all. It sounded more like a new adventure. A whole new way of seeing the world, only without sight to guide me. I was so grateful to Julia for knowing what to expect.
Sara and I became frequent visitors to Julia, often going to see only her several times a week. Each time, she would warm my heart by sharing her life with me.
“I wasn’t always blind, you know. I was an aviator back in the forties. Pretty rare for women to fly planes back then. My husband, he was a pilot during the second World War. Afterward, he taught me to fly. We had our own crop dusting company in the San Joaquin Valley. Did really well.”
I licked her hand to encourage her storytelling.
“Then I got glaucoma. That was the end of my flying days.” Julia sighed deeply. “But I’ll never forget what I had seen. Can you imagine how beautiful the earth and the sky are at 20,000 feet?”
I snuggled a little closer to her and tried to grasp what she was describing. I didn’t understand 20,000 feet. I’d never flown in an airplane, but I did often look up to the sky and wonder what the world looked like from the clouds.
Sara ran her pinky across Julia’s arm. “Maybe you’d better describe it for us.”
“Sure. I’d love to. Well, the earth, it looks like a map. All the rock formations, crops, housing developments – everything has a distinct design. All the colors are greens and browns. Water is blue, of course. And the sky! Well, the clouds are like fluffy cotton balls against the pure blue. Now, Luke, all you have to do is smell the salty air of the ocean and the peaty earthiness of the soil. Think about how the grass smells after rain, or how the breeze caresses your face. And then you’ll always remember how those things looked.”
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine. I thought about he sky and the clouds. And the wind as it made the trees sway. My time with Julia gave me an enthusiasm for the sighted world and all that I would miss as I struggled with a blurry world. But she told it to me in a way that would help me replace the loss of seeing it. This was one of the greatest gifts I ever received.
********
I had thought that Ashlundt would be more involved. He sounded so positive on that day back at the vet’s office. He was still kind and loving to me, but he didn’t seem to be with us as much as he had been before my diagnosis.
Sara’s frustration with him seemed to be growing. After we returned home from a great visit with Julia one late afternoon, she sought out Ashlundt in his office. I followed and stood next to her in the doorway.
“Sara, hi. I’m glad you’re home. I spoke to George Brown.” He stopped typing on his keyboard.
“Yes, I see that a few more books have been added to your collection on the floor, Ash.” Sara’s voice held a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah. I finally got to ask him how this could have happened. You know, the hereditary blindness.”
“Did you accuse the poor man of something, Ash?” Sara was leaning forward in the doorway, and I wandered over to my office bed.
“No, I told him that my perfect puppy was going blind from some degenerative disease, and that I thought he’d sold us a healthy dog!” He was rocking back and forth in his desk chair, making creaking sounds as he moved. It was making me nervous.
“Oh, Ash. Why blame him? He can’t change it.” Sara entered the room and began to pace as she spoke to him. “And it’s not like we’re going to exchange Luke for another dog, get our money back!”
He stopped rocking and stared at her. “Well, he told me that Luke was sired from Chester of Leicester, a champion from England, which we already knew. The mother was out of another champion line. Something else he told us back then. He said he had no knowledge of any wrong doing.”
“There you go. It wasn’t his fault, Ash.” Sara stopped in front of him, her hands palms up from what I could tell.
“No, there’s more. He admitted that after he sold us Luke and the rest of the litter, he found out he’d been duped.”
“How?” Sara put her hand on his shoulder.
I waited with anticipation on my bed for his next words.
“I asked him what he meant and why he didn’t bother telling us about it until now.” He took her hand from his shoulder and held it. “I mean, maybe we could have done something to prevent it.”
“Ash, you know as well as I do that there’s nothing to do about a genetic defect after-the-fact.”
He ignored her comment, released her hand and continued reporting back the conversation. “Then, he confessed that some of Luke’s littermates started going blind as early as when they were a year old! He did some investigating and found out that the sire was a carrier. He said we couldn’t blame him for this and that he’d done nothing wrong.”
Sara plopped down on a stool next to his desk. “But, Ash, I’m not surprised. That’s the way a defect like this would come down. Let’s just move on.”
“Move on? Sara, my God! The entire litter has this thing! They are either blind or carriers.” Ashlundt lurched forward in his chair. His sudden movement startled me. “All those poor sweet puppies. It’s heartbreaking.”
“Yes. It is. And it’s hard for us and for Luke. But again, what do you expect the breeder to do about it now?” She seemed to stare up at him intently.
“Well, actually, he said he neutered the sire so he couldn’t pass it on. Then, he wanted to know if Luke was neutered. I told him he was.”
“And?”
“I asked him how he couldn’t know about this.” He leaned closer to her. “I mean, Sara, I know you researched the guy, didn’t you? Isn’t he supposed to be the most reputable Lab breeder in this area?”
Sara jumped up from the stool as if attacked. “Yes, Ash! I did my research! He’s been in business for forty years.”
“Calm down. I’m not saying you did anything wrong.” Ashlundt’s voice grew defensive. “He offered to refund the money you paid for Luke. He even offered to pay us $1,200.”
“I hope you didn’t take him up on it, Ash.” She put her arm out in a jester as if to stop him from doing something.
“No.” Ashlundt seemed to become less agitated. “I told him I knew he didn’t do this on purpose. I imagine it’s hurt his business enough. But… maybe he shouldn’t be in business anyway.”
“Did you say that, Ash? How could you? Think about what you went through after the lawsuit.” Sara’s tone was scolding.
“No, I didn’t say he shouldn’t be in business. He said he was still trying to recover from it. He said he worked years to build up a top reputation, then this one little incident nearly wiped him out. I can relate to that.” Ashlundt wiped at his eyes as if to clear them.
“I hope you told him that, Ash.” Sara reached over and pushed a blonde lock from his forehead.
“No… I didn’t. I told him that was punishment enough.” Ashlundt shrugged. “Our poor Luke… it’s really so hard to watch him struggle like this.”
Sara stood in silence starring at Ashlundt. Finally, she put her hands on her hips and released her disgust. “How could you not empathize with that poor man! Have you no compassion for what he’s been through? You’re a psychologist for God’s sake! Why do you think he couldn’t have been duped! You of all people. How would you feel if your patients said those things to you!”
He stood up, shaking. “Well, some of them did!”
“And that justifies it, Ash? That justifies not helping more with Luke? I’m ashamed of you.” Sara turned on her heels and stomped out of the office.
I quivered in my doggie bed in the corner. Sara was upset. I wondered if she was frustrated because Ashlundt hadn’t forgiven my breeder or if something deeper could be bothering her.
Ashlundt sat back down in his office chair, then swiveled around and stared at me. He looked like he was shaking his head. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it almost seemed like he was angry with me. Without a word, he got up and knelt down next to me. I wagged my tail so hard it thumped on my dog bed. He looked me in the eyes and sighed, “Oh, Luke. What a storm we’ve gotten ourselves into.” Without another word, he stood back up and headed across the hall to the garage. I heard the car drive off moments later.
********
Sara and I went back to Northridge Hospital to see Julia later that week. A nurse had called Sara that morning to tell us that Julia had grown weaker over the past few days. Her wheelchair was nowhere to be found. Perhaps someone else was using it. Julia was in bed again when we arrived.
The moment I entered her room, I could smell it… death. I stopped in the doorway. It startled me. And the smell frightened me. I knew it would be the last time that I would be with Julia. She was so weak that she could barely put her arms around me.
Sara positioned me on the bed next to her, so I could just be close to her.
Julia’s breathing was labored. She struggled with her words. “Luke… my friend. Sara… sweet girl. Looks like… this is… it.
She knows I thought to myself. The sadness of it all left a lump in my throat.
“Don’t try to talk, Julia. Just let us sit here with you for awhile.” Sara stroked Julia’s forehead gently.
“No… want to tell you. Thank you for the… joy you have brought me these last… weeks.
“No, thank you, Julia. You’ve given Luke and me so much insight. You mean so much to him, and to me.” Sara squeezed Julia’s thin shoulder then sat in a chair next to the bed.
Julia was quiet, almost dozing for a long while. I lay still with my head next to hers. Her heartbeat sounded slower than I remembered.
One of the nurses came to the bedside and took Julia’s pulse and checked a machine they called a heart monitor now attached to her. “She’s very weak, Sara. You should probably say your goodbyes now. The family’s on the way to be with her.”
Julia awoke to the nurse’s voice. “No, wait. Let me. Let me say goodbye to Luke. She seemed to have sudden clarity. She found my head with her hands. “Goodbye my friend. I hope that humans are allowed at the Rainbow Bridge. I’ll wait for you there.”
“The Rainbow Bridge, Julia?” Sara was confused.
“You know.” Julia made a circular motion upward with her right hand. “Where animals go to heaven.”
Sara let out a sob and reached over to gently hug Julia. “Goodbye, Julia. It’s been such a joy to know you.”
One last time I covered Julia’s face and hands with kisses and licked the tears from her eyes. Sara helped me down from the bed and walked me to the door. We both turned back toward her bed. In that moment, the light streamed through the window, and I could see her beautiful old face framed by white silvery hair. My heart ached to know that this was our last time together. I knew I would never forget her. I hoped there was a Rainbow Bridge – whatever that was - and that she would be there for me someday.
Julia was a gift that Sara gave to me. Yet, I also felt Sara and I had been guided to Julia as if we were destined to meet, however briefly. Julia had helped me accept my impending blindness. Sara and Julia allowed me so much comfort through this process. Their love for me was without rules or expectations.