Page 55 of Forget That Guy
I was set to make a few house calls.
A pregnant horse that needed scanned. A euthanasia for a family pet. And a dog that needed to be seen, but was too big to be brought in.
“What order should I take these?” I asked Boone when he came back.
“The dog that needs to be seen is a Wolfhound. Caller said that he was attacked by wolves and didn’t look too good,” Boone explained. “I’d probably take that one first.”
I groaned. “Maybe we should offer a mobile service while we’re at it. We go pick them up and take them back home. Mobile vaccinations in the vehicle, too.”
“Sure, when I hire the next doctor here, we can discuss that,” he replied. “The ultrasound can be done last. Euthanasia is standard. A poodle belonging to an elderly couple.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then I’ll head to the Wolfhound’s house first.”
“Be careful, Holly.” He sighed. “I can’t spare anyone to help you today.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “Just remember, your wife was the one to encourage this.”
He snorted. “I swear, she has the biggest bleeding heart.”
A couple of weeks ago, Nettie had put out an ad that encouraged pet owners to get their pets spayed and neutered, as well as microchipped. We’d had an influx of calls just for that in the last week, and almost nothing else.
It was killing us.
I’d performed more spay and neuters in the last week than I had in my entire career.
My head continued to stay a confused mess as I drove in the Windsor Animal Hospital company vehicle to the stop with the hurt Wolfhound.
As I got deeper and deeper into the mountains, I started to get worried.
My GPS got me in here, but I wasn’t sure that the signal would be good enough to get me out.
I checked my phone’s signal and groaned.
I’d already lost it all.
Sometimes, I considered getting a satellite phone that would work, but that cost money. And so far, I was saving money for other, more important things.
The final mile approached, and I felt an eerie slither of fear roll through me as I arrived at a gate that was standing wide open.
The property was fenced with ten-foot chain-link fences, and the gate looked like it could withstand a dinosaur attack at Jurassic Park.
Even the signs of “NO TRESPASSSING” and “VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT” had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
There it was, all these signs not to go.
Yet, I pulled the damn truck in anyway.
Boone knew where I was.
They’d come looking for me if I was murdered out here.
Plus, I had a job to do.
Just because I was scared didn’t mean that I couldn’t get my job done. Boone had hired me for exactly this…
That eerie feeling softened slightly when I pulled up to the rather quaint little house in the middle of a small field at the base of the mountain.
A young woman stepped out of the house, jumped down the stairs and headed straight for me.
