Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(4)
One day Jack’s father came home from work and said, “Jack, would you help me? I’ve got something in the car I’d like you to carry in for me.” They walked out to the car and there in the back seat was a cardboard box with a beautiful little brindle and white pit bull puppy in it. “Thought Lekko could use a little friend,” he remembered his father had said. He’d named the puppy “Tiger,” because his markings were about the same as a tiger’s. From that day on, Jack had never been without a pet pit bull.
He’d formed the Pit Bull Sanctuary when he became aware of negative comments in the press about the aggressive nature of the breed. When he was young he remembered his mother had always made him cross the street if a Doberman pinscher or a German shepherd was being walked by its owner on the sidewalk. She’d told him they were mean breeds and to steer clear of them. It was only in the last ten years that the focus had switched from those breeds to his beloved pit bull breed, and he felt they were getting an unfair rap.
He began to hear that some kennels wouldn’t accept them and animal shelters were filled with the breed. Evidently many people abandoned their pit bulls when the media claimed they were dangerous. He’d met Mary Barnes several years earlier at a dog show. They happened to be sitting side by side watching a beautiful pit bull being shown in the terrier group by its trainer. “Great looking dog,” Jack had said.
“Yes, he’s a beauty. I’d put my money on him. I’d really like to see a pit bull win. They get so much negative publicity.”
One thing had led to another and after Mary and Jack had coffee following the event, he’d told her about his desire to help the breed by starting an organization he intended to call the “Pit Bull Sanctuary.” He told her the one thing stopping him was finding a place where he could keep the rescue dogs. Mary mentioned she owned a kennel and had often thought of doing something for the breed. She’d agreed to rent him a piece of her property if he would pay for the fencing required. Mary hadn’t wanted to offend any of her long-time customers, many of whom brought their dogs to her kennel for daily playtime, by having pit bulls that were rescue dogs mixed in with the paying customer’s dogs.
For several years the arrangement had worked well. Even though Jack was an engineer in his daytime job, his night job consisted of finding homes for the rescued pit bulls. He was usually at the Doggie Love Kennel two or three times a week transporting dogs and generally caring for them. Although his volunteers usually fed and watered the dogs on a daily basis, occasionally he had to fill in for one of them when they were unable to go to Doggie Love Kennel.
He sighed and stood up. He had no idea what he was going to do now that he had no place to temporarily keep the dogs. The incident between the Labrador retriever and one of the rescue pit bulls had happened only a few days ago, and he’d removed all the dogs as soon as Mary had called. The more he thought about it, the madder he got. It wasn’t the pit bull’s fault. It was the fault of the Labrador retriever for getting too close and the fault of whoever had left the gate ajar. And who was going to suffer? The poor rescue pit bulls.
Serve Mary right if something bad happened at her kennel. Let her know what it feels like to have some major problems. Maybe if all of her dogs were to get loose from Doggie Love Kennel, one of them would attack another dog or even bite a human. Wouldn’t be too sorry to see that kennel go under. She wouldn’t even give me a second chance .
Take your pit bulls and get out of here. Nice way to do business, Mary. Bet that Lab is still allowed there. Probably asked for it. Yeah, she needs to feel like I do. Think I know just how to go about making that happen.
Jack sat back down and called to his dogs, “Here Nick, here Joe, here Sheila. Here’s a treat for my good dogs,” he said taking three dog cookies from his pocket and giving one to each of them, while a smile slowly appeared on his face as he came to a decision.
CHAPTER 4
When Lisa Collins got into her Jaguar to return home after an appointment with the veterinarian, she made sure her Yorkshire terrier, Duchess, was firmly secured in her dog harness in the back seat. She still couldn’t believe what had happened to her precious little dog. The vet had confirmed that Duchess was pregnant, something Lisa had suspected for the last week. The problem was she didn’t know who the dog was that was responsible for getting Duchess pregnant. She knew when Duchess was supposed to come into heat and even had a stud lined up, one whose lineage was every bit as good as Duchess’s. She became suspicious Duchess was pregnant when she didn’t come into heat.
She got home and carried Duchess into her large early 20th century home. Lisa’s aunt had raised Yorkshire terriers, and Lisa had become fascinated with the breed when she was a teenager. She’d helped her aunt show her dogs throughout the western states. All Lisa wanted in life was to own the top champion Yorkshire terrier in the United States, as well as Great Britain if it worked out that way. Lisa was fortunate to have been the sole beneficiary of her aunt’s sizable estate, most of which could be traced to investments in the lumber industry. Her aunt was a very astute business woman and had sold the family timber holdings and sawmills before the industry fell on hard times.
Her aunt’s death occurred while Lisa was in college. She married a fellow student after they graduated, but the marriage didn’t last long. Larry Collins was simply no match for the Yorkshire terriers and Lisa’s compelling desire to own the top champion in the terrier category. When the marriage ended, Lisa had bought two more Yorkies, hoping one of them would bring her the coveted prize. While they both became champions, it was clear to Lisa neither one would provide her with what had become an obsession, being the owner of the American Kennel Club’s dog with the most Grand Champion points for terriers.