Leash On Faith

   Julie knew what she wanted to do; she just did not know where to begin. Her heart was in the right place because animals and helping them was a passion for her. It all began when she came across a Jack Russell puppy on the side of the road. It was good that she was on the side of the road and not attempting to cross the four lanes of traffic. She would have been hit without a doubt. She spotted her as she was approaching the light at the corner of Pine and Cone Avenues. She knew she needed to turn around and go back and get her. Julie drove down a block and made a U-turn and headed back and the dog was still there. She got out of her car and slowly approached her. She put up no resistant, wagging her tail, she all but leaped into her arms. Julie found herself almost in tears. She was so cute, mostly white with two black ears. She just knew she had to belong to a family who had to be looking for her. She did not have on a collar that might have identified her. She was able to place one of her dog’s leashes around her neck. She scooped her up and placed her in the passenger seat of her car. She sat quietly as if this was not her first car ride. She took her home and preceded to feed her and give her water. She gave her a bowl of cool water and just watched her. The introduction to Hope went well also. Hope was a Poodle. Julie had rescued her about a year earlier. Hope looked Faith over and did the usual sniffing that dogs do. She thought with no name tag or anything she needed to come up with some type of name. Faith, Julie thought would fit her well. It was going to take a little faith to find out who she belonged to. As the two dogs shared water and food together Julie thought where she needed to start. She knew she had to do what she could to reunite Faith with her family. She imagined they must be frantic. She decided to make some calls to see if her family had contacted the local dog pounds. As of the time of her call no one had reported her missing. It was already close to six. Julie was surprised by that. She wondered how long had Faith been missing, a day, maybe two, maybe more?  She decided to get started first thing in the morning, putting Faith picture out so if the owner saw it, they could contact her. She would also drive around the neighborhood in which she found her. Surely, someone would recognize Faith maybe even her owners. She fixed Faith a pallet, made up of two blankets that use to be Hope’s.

    Hope’s bed laid on the floor at the foot Julie's bed. Hope made her regular two turns before she laid down in her bed. Faith laid on the blankets next to Hope. It was surprising, the two dogs were fast asleep within an hour. The next day Julie rose to eight legs running through her small apartment, Hope & Faith were still getting alone pretty good. She got up and put the coffee pot on before letting them out in the backyard to do their business. Hope was house broken, and it looked as if Faith was too. The two tussled with each other but never fought. Hope was an only dog, but many trips to the dog park helped her to learned to be sociable with other dogs. Julie did not think that would be a problem, but she had noticed that Hope could be a little jealous if she paid too much attention to other dogs at the park or anywhere else for that matter. They ran back and forth from one end of the yard to the other. Hope finally came to the back door, her Momma’s cue she wanted in. She rushed in with Faith not far behind. Both dogs headed to the kitchen where the dog’s dishes were kept by the pantry door.  Hope had her usual food and water dishes combo set, but Julie had to make Faith one of her own. She got two medium size stir bowls that worked out great. After taking her shower and getting dressed, Julie took a picture of Faith with her phone. She uploaded the picture on her Facebook timeline with Faith’s description and where she had found her and how to reach out if anyone recognized her.

She was certain someone would recognize Faith and give her a call and the dog would be on her way back to her family.  She also went and had flyers made with Faith’s picture. She thought about 15 should do. She was only putting them up in the vicinity in which she found Faith. Lucas Shopping Complex was small, with not very many businesses. It is located at the corner of Pine and Cone Avenues. It had about seven small businesses there. She would see if the owners would allow her to put a flyer up in the window. She then would go a block over to Jefferson Street and thumb tax a flyer to the big oak trees that lined the sidewalk. One more place she had to go before going home and that was the local newspaper. She took the same flyer and put it in the paper’s lost and found section. Julie thought with such assurance, “this should do it.” One week, no calls, two weeks, no calls, three and then four. Julie found herself a little put a back. There is no way she would let her Hope be away from her for that long. She would have called the police and filed a missing person report, she thought as she laughed at herself. She could hardly believe it. She had to consider, though her apartment had a nice backyard where the two dogs could play, the apartment itself was small. It had only one bedroom. The backyard was the only reason she got it in the first place. Hope would have some place to play, and it was only them. She was hoping to find Faith’s family soon because she did not want her to go to the pound. She also had to consider that dogs can be expensive no matter how big or little they are. Hope had showed her that.  The first eights months she had Hope she got sick, and the vet bills piled up. The vet was never able to say exactly what was wrong, but she eventually got better. Julie shook her head just thinking about having to deal with that with one dog let alone two dogs.

    Julie wondered could she afford another dog, to her it did not look like anyone was going to come forward to get Faith back. Time went by, she did not know what else to do. She did all she could. Julie decided to keep Faith, there was nothing left for her to do. She was just a test or two from being done with veterinarian school when she found Julie. It had been a long road, and she was determined to make it through. She had to admit that Faith and Hope though at times were a bit to manage, but they were her strength to a degree. She knew however that getting out of school was one thing paying back student loans was another. Julie knew she did not have time to worry about that she had to get a job and get one fast, first thing first. She started looking, putting in applications in the surrounding cities, counties, and states. She finished second in her class when she graduated, so that should help her stand out she thought. After about six months, she got a call. The good thing that it was a vet office just three counties over. She called and set up an interview with Dogs and Paws. Dr. Larry Mason was the head vet. She had two weeks to prepare. The day finally came. She was 30 minutes early. She met with the receptionist briefly, who let Dr. Mason know his 11 o’clock appointment was there. Julie took a seat in the reception area and was soon called back. She stepped into Dr. Mason’s office. He was standing looking out of his office window. Julie cleared her throat to get his attention of which it did. He turned and looked at her and asked her to have a seat. He begins, “I looked over your application and resume, you did very well in school, I am impressed. I can’t say I did that well.” Julie replied, “Thank You Sir.” She begins to relay to him how she had come across his advertisement in the first place by simply putting an ad in her local paper about a lost dog she had found. He suddenly leaned forward looking confused Julie thought. He picked up her application and noted, “you live three counties over from here.”   She nodded. “What type of dog is it?”  he asked. “A black and white Jack Russell” she said hesitantly. He, without hesitation begin to tear up. Julie did not know what to do. She did not know if she should leave or stay or what. “Sir, Mr. Mason I am sorry.”  He replied, “no, you did nothing wrong.  Julie, do you still have the dog?” he asked. “Yes Sir”, she replied. “It is my dog I’ve been looking and waiting. I never would have thought she would have gotten that far.”  “Her name is Faith.”  Julie let out a scream. Now, he did not know what to do or say. “Why did you scream?” he asked. “When I found her Dr. Mason, she did not have on a collar, so I had no way of knowing her name, so I named her Faith until I found her owner”, Julie replied. Julie at that moment realized why Faith took to the name so easily. Dr. Mason, I will bring her back as soon as you want me to., He took his handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped the tears from his eyes. He begins to apologize for his reaction. He shared with Julie that Faith had been a special part of his family and how she had brought him so much joy. He never thought he would ever see her again. He told Julie of course you know you have the job as he shook her hand. They sat and talked for hours, first about Faith and Hope and then about the job. They agreed upon her salary, insurance and benefits like a 401k, something Julie never had. The best thing Julie liked was upon employment the company pays off half of your student debt. She almost screamed again when she heard that. He wanted to know when she could start and and when and if she needed to move closer to the hospital, the company would pay for it and help her find a place. She could use a company car until then to commute. It turned out Dr. Mason had a total of ten Dogs & Paws in five different states. He was spending a lot of his time at the Dogs & Paws just three counties away and was looking for someone to be the vet at this one. His other vet had to move back home to take care of her mother which explained why he was there. He shared with Julie, that one night he let Faith out and when he went to let her back in, she did not come. He felt almost certain she was stolen out of his backyard.  On the way home Julie could hardly breathe, it was a lot to take in. She never would have thought that a her day would end so poetically wonderful. And all it took was a U-turn and a leash on Faith.