“He’s a very handsome dog,” she said. “I’ve not seen a Belgian Malinois around here before.”
“He’s smart as hell. He saved a lot of lives out there. He deserves some peace.”
“He was trained to detect explosives?”
“He was what they call a dual-purpose dog. He could detect explosives as well as track enemy combatants.”
“We always need trackers around here. People keep getting lost in the mountains.”
“He’s not ready for that.”
“Not now, but...”
“I’m not concerned with anything but now,” he said shortly.
She nodded. “He’s thin. Too thin. What does he eat?”
“Not much of anything. I tried dog food at first. Some that the vets at Lackland recommended. He ignored it. I tried hamburgers and steaks on the trip. He would nibble after leaving it for a while, but never much. Same yesterday. I got him a steak from Maude’s Diner. He couldn’t be less interested.”
“And those are good steaks,” she said. “My dogs would die for them.”
She whispered something to Amos, then stood. “Amos, can you sit for me?”
“Sit, Amos,” Josh said, trying to reinforce the command.
Amos slowly moved his butt from under the bed. Amos usually cringed now when a command was given. Today was no different, but after a moment he obeyed.
“Good boy,” the vet said. She took a small package from her pocket and pulled out a piece of cheese and offered it to Amos.
To Josh’s surprise, he accepted it.
“Few dogs can resist cheese,” she said. “Works a lot better than most dog treats.” She continued whispering to Amos as she inspected his ears and then her hands checked the rest of his body. “Muscle tone is still good.”
“I’ve been taking him for walks at night when there’s no traffic. Sudden noises scare him. And any kind of loud noises. Knocking on the door, for instance.”
“Is that why you’ve scared off visitors?”
“You’ve heard that, too?”
“Everyone in town has. I know you don’t want to say much about your service. Or Amos’s. But it would be a quick way to stop the visitors. They’ll understand.”
He shrugged. “We don’t care if they understand.”
She gave him a long, searching look, then turned back to Amos. “You’re speaking for him?”
He had to crack a smile. “Guess so.”
“From what you’ve said, his sitting is a big deal. Next step seems to be what you’re doing. Walking him when you can. Try to stimulate him. I understand he was trained with dog toys.”
“He has a box load of every kind of toy imaginable. Squeaky ones, long stuffed snakes, the KONG toys loaded with treats. He’s just not interested.”
She shrugged. “Give him time. Amos has had a lot of changes. And a huge loss. You said yesterday that you thought the problem was more a broken heart. But he knew you. You were a familiar piece of his old life. That should help.”
He had thought it might. But though Amos tolerated him, he’d reserved his loyalty and devotion for Dave, who’d always loved dogs and had worked hard to become a handler for the unit.
“I thought so, too, but Amos apparently is a one-person dog. He’d only had one handler.”
Stephanie nodded. “You must have been a very good friend of the handler to take this on. I’ve discovered it’s not the easiest thing to adopt a retired military dog. A lot of paperwork and a lot of time.”
“I owed his handler.”
“Why?”
“Dave was my best friend. He was killed...on my last patrol.”
“David Hannity?”
He stared at her.
“It makes sense,” she said. “From both what you said and didn’t say.”
He nodded. “Others died that day, too. An ambush.” He didn’t know why he’d said that. Especially to a stranger, but then she’d guessed most of it.
“And you feel responsible?” She paused, then added, “It’s none of my business, and you can be sure I won’t repeat anything to anyone. But I wanted to know your commitment to Amos.”
“Dave saved my life that day. Do you know now?”
“I think I do,” she said softly. “Start taking him on mountain trails during the day. No cars or loud noises there. Talk to him. Don’t give up on the toys. If there’s no progress in several weeks, then maybe we will try something else.”
He nodded. “Thanks for coming.”
“I’m not sure I helped much.”
“None of the vets at Lackland could, either. Maybe time...”
She looked at him directly. “He’s lucky to have you.”
“Not so much. If he was lucky, Dave would still be alive.”
She turned to leave.
“What about the bill?”
“I didn’t do anything. No charge.”
He walked her to the door and watched her leave. She walked with athletic grace. She was attractive, but there was none of that sexual electricity he’d felt with the mayor. So it hadn’t been just a need for female companionship. He’d hoped that was the case.
The mayor, for God’s sake. He’d truly lost his mind. Dave would have laughed his head off.
