Unprotected: A Secret Baby

CHAPTER ONE

Maggie

What a gorgeous day!

Sticking a pencil into my messy updo, I turned around from stocking the shelves to peek through the glass doors of the pet shop.

Definitely beautiful. The skies were clear and blue, the sun glowing and warm in the middle of it a cloudless sky. Perfect weather.

And from the nips and happy barks coming from the doggie area, I could tell the puppies would love being out there too.

Don’t worry, my friends, came my internal voice. Soon you’ll be with loving families, never fear.

Humming a tune, I finished shelving the last of the heavy bags of dog food that came in last night. As a pet tech at DoggyMart, it’s not normally my job. But Janie, one of the girls who worked with me begged me to do it, and I don’t mind helping out.

But whew, it was hard work! A small price to pay though for hanging out all day with cute and happy animals. Even when they weren’t so happy, it made me feel amazing to help calm them down.

Strands of curly brown hair fell from the up-do and into my face, sticking clammily to my cheeks. Gosh, I was going to need a shower after I got home. Sweat made my t-shirt stick to my armpits, every nook and crevice a little moist. A long, hot wash was definitely in the works the minute I got home.

Squeak, squeak. The old cart rolled along as I pushed it to the back of the store.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” came my polite voice. “Coming through.”

And obligingly, people made way. Thank goodness because I wanted to get to the puppies asap. I’m a huge animal lover, and working with furry friends is the best part of my job. Even now, I was attuned to the squeak of gerbil wheels. The plaintive meows of kittens. The smaller puppies whining. At least all the bigger dogs were calm today, thank goodness.

Suddenly, Dr. Reynolds popped into view. He’s our in-house vet, a friendly old man with a salt and pepper beard and twinkling blue eyes. Not that different from Santa actually.

“Oh, there you are, Maggie,” he chuckled. “The puppies from that abandoned house from the news just came in. Didn’t you want to see them?”

A big smile flashed over my face.

“Yes, definitely,” came my excited words. But then my face fell. “They’re okay, aren’t they?”

Dr. Reynolds nodded.

“They’re okay this time,” he said reassuringly. “Healthy and active, just like eight week old puppies should be. Thank goodness,” he said darkly. “You can never tell with these things.”

And I nodded somberly. Because a lot of animals that come our way aren’t in the best shape. Some have been abused, but most are neglected. I hate to say this of humans, but when it comes to dog versus man, most people choose man. And as a result, our canines can be lonely and maladapted. They’re not bad animals, they just don’t know how to behave because no one’s showed them how.

Dr. Reynolds smiled patiently at me and gestured to another pet tech. Slowly, Marvin wheeled out a cart with a huge cage on top. Oh my gosh, they were so cute! No bigger than two hands put together, the dogs rolled and tumbled together, playful and fluffy.

“Hey, babies,” I cooed. “How are you?”

Sitting on the floor next to their cage, I opened it. And immediately, the animals stopped playing and scrambled to the open door to inspect me. All three had shiny brown eyes. Blinking, they perched little paws on the wire rim, poking their noses out experimentally.

“Aren’t you guys so adorable?”

I wriggled my fingers at them but didn’t touch, just letting them sniff for a moment. Soon, the white one with a black patch over his eye like a pirate tumbled out of the crate and wandered over to me, curious like a little monkey. He wobbled on tiny feet.

“You’re the brave one, aren’t you?” I teased with my finger near his face, close but still not touching.

He tumbled into my arms then, making sweet little whimpers. My heart melted. I could literally feel it dissolving into goo because this is why I love my job. Being a pet tech doesn’t pay well, but when an innocent animal overcomes its dark past to trust humans again, I feel redeemed. I feel like I’ve made a difference, however small, in an animal’s life, and happiness coursed through my veins.

It’s why I want to be a vet one day. My part time classes were designed to get me there, but right now, I was only going once a week because credits are expensive, and it’s all I can afford. My dream is to get an Associates degree, and then go for my Bachelors. After that, vet school. Sometimes it seems like pie in the sky, but my dream will come true, slowly but surely.