Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(5)
Every waking hour found Lisa reading about the dog world, working with her dogs, and developing relationships with breeders. After several years she located a breeder on the East Coast who had a dam who had been the Best of Show at Westminster which had been bred to the Best of Show in Canada. The veterinarian was projecting a litter of five pups. Lisa had sent the breeder a check for $10,000 as a down payment for a female pup from the litter.
When she got the call that the dam had given birth, she got on the first plane she could and travelled to Connecticut to see her new puppy. She paid the breeder the balance of the purchase price and told him she would be back in eight weeks to take the puppy she had named Duchess home with her. Every hope that Lisa had ever had for having the top champion Yorkie was wrapped up in the little ball of fur. No expense was spared for the puppy. The little dog dined on filet mignon and slept in a dog bed with custom-made satin sheets which were changed daily by Lisa’s housekeeper.
Duchess was always perfectly groomed. In fact, the groomer came to the house daily to comb out the terrier’s silky hair and put a different bow in her hair. On show days the groomer traveled with Lisa and spent three hours getting Duchess ready for her trip around the show ring. Lisa looked at her with adoring eyes as Duchess walked over to her favorite silk cushion and reclined on it.
I have people waiting to buy her puppies. She’s everything I ever wanted in a dog. She’s not only one of the best Yorkies in the United States, she’s also number one in AKC Grand Championship Points, and I’m the one who trained her and showed her. She’s only had one litter, but people were standing in line to buy the puppies, even at the price I was charging, $10,000 per puppy. People told me that was a ridiculous amount of money to ask for a dog, but I just said, “Look at this dog. She’s what every Yorkshire terrier should look like,” and every one of the litter was sold at full price.
Lisa walked over to Duchess and gently stroked her soft, silky coat. Duchess looked up at her with her large green eyes, and Lisa could swear she was smiling. Those eyes captivated people when they saw Duchess for the first time. They were emerald green and mesmerizing.
Sweet girl, I am so sorry. I wish you could tell me who the father is. I don’t know what to do. The vet said he could perform an abortion on you, but since I’m morally opposed to them, I certainly couldn’t do that to you. The problem is, if word gets out you’ve had a litter and they’re a mixed breed, which I’m pretty sure they will be, it might ruin your chances for anyone wanting a puppy from you in the future. Plus, I probably wouldn’t be able to get the price for your puppies that I got from the last litter.
Lisa stood up and walked into her office. The vet told her Duchess was about four weeks along. He’d said, which she already knew, that the gestation period for dogs was sixty-three days. When she told him she didn’t know how or when Duchess had gotten pregnant, he suggested she look at a calendar and figure out where Duchess might have been twenty-eight to thirty days ago.
She sat down at her computer and pulled up her calendar, trying to re-create where she and Duchess had been four weeks ago. When she looked at her calendar she remembered she’d gone to her nephew’s wedding in Las Vegas for three days. It was both his wife-to-be and his second marriage, and they’d decided it would be better to get married in Las Vegas rather than have a big church wedding. Lisa had scheduled an expensive dog sitter to come to the house to be with Duchess while she was in Las Vegas, but the dog sitter had become ill at the last minute, and Lisa had no choice but to put Duchess in a kennel. She briefly considered not going to the wedding, but she knew her sister would never forgive her for putting Duchess above her nephew. She called several people she trusted in the dog world, and Doggie Love Kennel came highly recommended.
Lisa boarded Duchess at the Doggie Love Kennel for three days. That was the only time she’d been away from Duchess during the time frame in question. Duchess must have come into heat a little early, and one of the dogs at the kennel was responsible for the pregnancy.
This really infuriates me. Not only is Duchess pregnant, but I had to pay a special rate for an isolated kennel because she isn’t spayed. I was told that any female dog over four months old is required to stay in her own kennel and is not allowed to commingle with the other dogs, because she might come into heat. I had no problem with that, but obviously, something went wrong.
She picked up the phone and dialed the kennel’s number. “Doggie Love, may I help you?” a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone asked.
“Yes. I’d like to speak with the owner, Mary Barnes.”
“Please hold while I get her.”
A few moments later a woman’s voice came on the line. “This is Mary Barnes, may I help you?”
“Yes, this is Lisa Collins. I believe we’ve met before. I’m the owner of a Yorkshire terrier, Duchess, that I boarded with your kennel a month ago. There’s a little problem that’s developed. No, actually it’s a very big problem. Duchess is a not only a champion Yorkshire terrier, she is also number one in AKC Grand Champion Points. I have a waiting list of people who want her puppies. The problem is she’s pregnant. The vet’s certain she’s about four weeks along. I didn’t breed her. The only place she was during that time frame was in your kennel. I’m certain that one of the dogs there must be responsible for her pregnancy. Believe me, I am not happy about this situation.”