“I’m Dr. Pamel.” I watch him slip on some rubber gloves. “What happened?”
“Hit by a bike.” I clear my throat again. “She’s not moving. Her eyes are open and she’s shivering. She keeps panting and whimp—” I do what I can to keep more tears from falling. “—whimpering.”
“Can you set her down gently?” he asks before adding, “I’ll be right back.”
I nod even though I’m not sure I can, or that I want to. I’d rather hold her, but I know that won’t get her the help she needs. Leaning down, I rest my arms on the table first. Then, as slow as possible, I slide one arm out as I use my hand to transition her to the table without much movement. I do the same with the other arm. I keep one hand on her at all times so she knows I’m with her, like she’s always with me.
“God.” I bite my lip to keep from crying. “Sky, girl. I’m so, so sorry.”
When the guy walks back into the room, he’s not alone. Alison is with him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask amid my surprise.
“I followed you.”
Why would she follow me? I know she was pissed that I grabbed her so she wouldn’t get rammed by the bike. I guess I don’t blame her, especially since I didn’t get the chance to explain. Not that that would make a difference after the heel incident.
“I thought you’d be angry with me again.”
“I was. Before I realized you were pulling me out of the path of a bike.”
I nod and look down at my sweet pup. “This is Sky.”
She steps closer until she’s right next to me. Reaching out, she barely touches Sky’s silky coat. “Hi, Sky. I’m sorry you’re hurt.”
She looks up at me with glistening eyes. “Is she going to be okay?”
“We’re going to do our best,” says the vet. “We’ll need to get an X-ray to see what’s happening. I’d like to do some blood work as well.”
“Whatever you need to do, do it.”
“Right.” He leans down to look into Sky’s eyes. “Hey, Sky,” he says softly. “We’re going to take good care of you, okay?”
I stand frozen in place as the table she’s on is wheeled out of the room for X-rays. I feel a warm hand on my arm and look down at Alison. “She’ll be okay,” she whispers.
How does she know that? I don’t say it; instead, I merely nod.
I feel a tug on my arm and let her lead me to one of the two chairs in the exam room. I sit and watch as she sits next to me. “How long have you had Sky?” she asks.
“A year.”
“Is she a rescue dog?”
I let a single laugh escape me. “You could say that.”
Her brows furrow, and then she asks, “What do you mean?”
I’ve told the story about Sky to several people. None of them believed me. I should just make something up, but I feel like Sky deserves to have her story told. “I was walking to the subway one day after work.” I look over at Alison. I want to see her face when she hears this. “I heard a weird sound. At first I thought it was something like wind hitting thin metal, but then I realized it was something more.”
She’s listening intently, staring right into my eyes.
“I looked around me but didn’t see anything. Then, as the sound got closer, it was more of a yipping noise.”
This is where most people start to raise a brow at the story. But Alison doesn’t. Not yet.
“I looked up and saw something falling.”
“From the sky?” she asks softly.
“From the sky.” I nod. “I reached out and had to lunge to catch her.”
“Did she jump from a balcony or something?”
I shake my head. “No balconies in sight. She could have fallen out of a window or something, but even after I put signs up and informed both building managers about the dog, no one ever claimed her.”
“Wow.” She chuckles softly. “That’s amazing.”
“It is.”
“Sky is the perfect name for her.”
“She’s the perfect dog.”
Alison reaches out and touches my hand. I’d love to tell you I felt nothing, but I can’t. “She’s going to be okay. I just know it.”
I look down at her hand on top of mine and place mine on top of hers. “Thanks for being here.” And I mean it.
She gives me a small smile, but it seems genuine. “You’re welcome.”
“The good news is she’s got no internal bleeding. I was concerned she’d have pneumothorax—”
“What’s that?” Alison asks before I can.
“Punctured lung.”
“She doesn’t have that?”
“No. But what she does appear to have is swelling in her spine. Good news, the spine doesn’t show signs of a fracture.”
I nod.
“Meaning what?” Alison takes over. I’m thankful since I’m unable to put two thoughts together. She seems to be a good person to have around right now.
“My guess is she’s got a ruptured intervertebral disc. It’s also why she’s not able to move.”
She looks first at the doc, then at me, her voice shocked when she says, “She can’t move?”
I knew she wasn’t moving, but I just figured she was in shock or she had a broken leg. “Her spine?” My voice is much higher than normal. I can’t control it.
“The rupture can cause spinal inflammation and paralysis. She’ll need emergency surgery.”
“Surgery?” I squeak. “When?”
“Now.”
“Can you do that here?”
He nods. “We need to do a myelogram to locate the exact disc. While we do that, you’ll need to fill out some paperwork about Sky, and then we’ll get her prepped for surgery.”
“Of course. Whatever she needs.”
I don’t care if I have to sell one of my own kidneys to pay for this. My sweet Sky is going to make it through this.
Chapter Eighteen
Alison
Sky’s been in surgery for nearly two hours. The longer we wait, the more Ben’s foot seems to tap nervously on the floor. And when he’s not doing that, he’s pacing. I wish I knew what to say to ease his worry, but I’ve never been in this situation. I’ve lost pets before, but they were at the end of their little lives. Sky, well, I don’t know how old she is, but I’m sure she’s not at that age yet. Maybe I just need to try talking to Ben again.
“How old is Sky?”
“Huh?” Ben stops walking in front of me. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” He really is distracted.
“I asked you how old Sky was.”
“Oh.” He smiles. “Well, they thought she was about one and a half when I found her, so two and a half.”
“She’s young.” I smile up at him. “That’s good.”
“Is it?”
I pat the seat next to me, hoping he’ll take the hint and sit back down. His pacing is making me nervous. When he does, I reach out and touch his hand. “It’s good. She’s young. She’ll bounce back quicker that way.”