Home Is Where Your Bark Is

Chapter 16

Toward the end of an incredible dinner, Jake’s phone began to ring out from the windowsill behind the kitchen sink. On vibrate, it rattled obtrusively against the ceramic tile, overriding the soft classical music that played over his portable Bluetooth speaker. The first time it rang, he said he’d call whoever it was back later, but one call rolled into another, reminding Jenna of her sister when she was being persistent, and making her wonder if Jake also had a Monica in his life.

Aside from this distraction, the evening had been going great. The conversation had an easy flow to it, and none of the first date-that-might-or-might-not-actually-be-a-date awkwardness poked its ugly head. Jake really did know his way around a kitchen, he was a gracious host, and his place was a wonderful combination of clean and inviting but also lived in, which Jenna appreciated.

Upon getting here, Jake had put the Christmas cactus on the side table next to his couch after Jenna advised him it would be best kept out of direct sunlight. Although Seven forwent any further attempts to scent mark on it, as soon as Jenna and Jake had sat down at the table to eat, he leaped onto the couch to give both the pot and plant a thorough sniff.

Since then, he’d mostly been gnawing a sturdy new rubber chew toy that Jake had asked Jenna to stuff with small treats as he set the table earlier. “I’m hoping it buys us thirty minutes of focused, nondestructive dog so that we can eat in peace,” he’d said with a laugh. The toy was designed so that when Seven bit down hard enough in the right spot, one or two of the small treats would drop out of a hole in the bottom.

Even a room away, Seven proved every bit as entertaining as dinner and a movie as he worked the new toy. Perhaps Jenna shouldn’t have been surprised, but it didn’t take him long to master it. She’d just taken another bite of the mouthwatering chicken when Seven clamped the bright-blue toy between his teeth, tilted his head in an awkward angle, and began to shake out the treats so that they fell one by one in a continuous stream at his feet rather than letting go of the toy to snatch up a single one at a time.

“Well, I guess he’s got that one solved,” Jake said with a chuckle. “During my meeting this afternoon, he figured out which was the most productive way to roll a treat-dispensing puzzle ball in ten minutes too.”

“Oh yeah? You can see how intelligent he is in the way he looks at you.”

When Jake’s phone began to vibrate for the fourth time, Jake sat back in his chair. “Whoever that is isn’t giving up. I didn’t think to put it on Do Not Disturb. Excuse me a sec, will you?”

He headed into the main part of the kitchen and pulled his phone off the windowsill. Jenna spotted the dark look that flashed across his face as he glanced at the screen. Figuring it wasn’t her business, she returned her attention to Seven, who’d dropped the toy and had it clamped under one front paw as he gobbled up the last several treats with the speed of an anteater.

Jake lingered at the sink, likely reading voicemails that had been converted to text. “Hey,” he said, his voice lifting, “one of those calls was from a St. Louis area code. I’ve been playing phone tag with the trainer at the shelter where Seven’s from. Mind if I return her call before she leaves for the day?”

“Go for it.”

Jake pulled a small notepad and pen from one of the kitchen drawers before returning to the table. After pressing Dial with his cell on speaker and setting it between them, he sank onto his chair and pushed his mostly empty plate back enough to fit the notepad in front of it.

By the third ring, someone picked up. “High Grove Animal Shelter. Tess Redding speaking.”

“Hi, Tess, this is Jake Stiles. I just missed your call.”

“Oh, hi, Jake. I’m glad we’re connecting.”

Across the room, Seven stopped midchomp and looked toward the table where the phone rested. Jenna wondered if he was reacting to the particular voice on the other end of the call or if it was simply the sound of a human voice coming out of a tiny object that had gotten his attention.

“Me too. I’m reaching out to see if you remember a dog who moved through there—apparently several times, with the last one being about nine months ago. I left his microchip number in my last message. I’m hoping you still have those records.”

“You’re in luck. We keep our animals’ records ten years after they’ve been adopted out. I looked him up before calling you. He’s a young border collie, right?” When Jake confirmed that he was, Tess continued. “He should be a little over two now. I can’t remember what you called him in your message, but he went by a few different names while he was here.”

Jake glanced at Jenna. “Given the number of times he was supposedly turned in, I’m not surprised by that. In any case, we’re calling him Seven. By the way, a friend of mine—Jenna—is here with me, and she may have some questions for you too.”

“Sure thing,” Tess said. “Either of you feel free to fire away, and Seven, huh? I like it. Seven’s a lucky number, and way better than the unfortunate nickname that stuck after one of his failed adoptions.”

“Oh yeah? What was that?”

“I was an advocate for not making it official, but the first few people who adopted him from us were quick to return him. Some of us here started calling him Turnstile after that.”

Jenna clamped a hand over her mouth as Jake chuckled. “I could see that. So, he really did move through there four times?”

“I have his record pulled up, and yeah, unfortunately. Since you’re calling me, and you’re clearly not who adopted him last, I’m guessing he’s been surrendered five times now, huh?”

“Actually, it’s six. I’m fostering him now to keep it from being seven, which is how he got his name.”

Tess clicked her tongue loudly enough that it carried over the speaker. “And I would’ve sworn the woman who adopted him last was committed to keeping him forever. She went through several weeks of training with him before taking him home, and they seemed like such a match. I checked in with her after thirty days too. She said she thought they’d gotten through the thick of it and were bonding. She was supposed to bring him back here if it didn’t work out.”

“Well, I can’t say how he got here, but his last two shelter stays have been up here in Chicago.”

“Chicago? Wow. Well, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that far, I guess.”

With the attentiveness of a dog who’d spotted a rabbit in a bush, Seven trotted over to the table, his attention still homed in on the phone. Planting his front paws on the table like they had every right to be there, he stuck his nose against the edge of the phone and sniffed, the hair on the back of his neck bristling as he did.

“It’s safe to say he remembers your voice,” Jenna said. “He’s zeroed in on the phone.”

Tess’s drawn-out “Aww” rolled over the speaker. “Hi there, good boy. It’s okay. You’re not coming back. At least, I hope you aren’t.” Seven’s ears perked forward, but he dropped down to the floor once more and backed up several feet. After a slight pause, Tess added, “If ever a dog has needed to land in his forever home, it’s him.”

“I agree,” Jake said. Two thin creases abruptly lined his forehead. “But I have to tell you, I’m only fostering him. With my work schedule and his activity needs, I doubt I could make it work long-term. I am, however, committed to this fostering thing leading to that.”

“If it helps, we’ve found that foster families are every bit as important as adopters when it comes to helping our animals find their forever homes.”

“Thanks. He’s pretty jaded when it comes to trusting people. My hope is to build up rapport with him along the way, even if he’s not one to let his guard down. At all. Which is why I’m reaching out to you. Jenna’s going to be helping too. Any advice you can give us is welcome, along with his history, if you can share it. We have the sense he’s been abused. It’d be helpful to get an idea how far back that goes and how severe it might’ve been.”

After glancing back and forth between Jake and Jenna, Seven trotted over to the front windows, staring out onto the street as if in search of the voice on the other end of the call, the hair on the back of his neck still bristled and his tail sticking out behind him. Jenna couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or fear.

“I can help with both of those. I can’t give names, obviously, but I can give you a rundown of his history here, which’ll make it clear why he’s slow to warm up to people.”

“That’d be great.”

“Okay, my guess is it’s best to start at the beginning. Hold on a sec. I’m going to put you on speaker and pull up those notes.”

Jake looked at Jenna and lifted a brow. “Whatever it is, at least we’ll know,” he whispered. As he listened, he’d been doodling on the pad in front of him, and a collection of precise squares, triangles, and squiggly lines began to fill the small paper.

Jenna smoothed out the linen napkin that was folded on her lap. The part of her that experienced an urge to change the channel anytime a nature show threatened to stir up tears wasn’t fully convinced she wanted to learn the dog’s history. Then she looked over at Seven, and resolution set in. Whatever had happened to him, she and Jake needed to understand it.

“He was just shy of eight months old when he first came in,” Tess said over the speaker. A chorus of barks erupted in the background, but they were muted enough to still hear her okay. “I don’t think I met that family, or if I did, I don’t remember, but the reason for his surrender says only one thing. Divorce. I have a coworker who could tell you the exact percentage of divorce-related surrenders off the top of his head, but we certainly get our fair share of animals for that very reason.” She fell quiet again. “Let’s see. He was only here a little over a week that first time, and that includes the mandatory time in quarantine. The first family to adopt him returned him after one long weekend with him, so we basically counted that as a failed trial and got him back on adoption row ASAP. The second family kept him just over a week, and that was when he got the nickname I was telling you about. Let me check those notes as to why they surrendered him.”

As they waited, Jake stopped doodling to split one of the smashed potatoes still on his plate in half and take a bite. Comfortably full, Jenna sipped her wine.

“Well,” Tess continued, “that family’s reason for surrender is exactly what you might expect of anyone returning a less-than-a-year-old border collie—too much energy. Even though he was so young, it’s shelter policy that any dogs who’re returned twice or more are marked for special attention before they’re adopted out again. That means he didn’t make adoption row as quickly that next time. That’s when I started working with him one on one. He’s as smart as dogs come. I’ll swear by that. He just didn’t know what to do with all that energy of his.”

“I can imagine, given how energetic he still is more than a year later.”

Tess was quiet another few seconds, but they gave her the space to answer. “Looks like he spent close to two months with us that time. The couple who adopted him… I remember talking to them. The guy said he grew up on a farm and had worked with border collies before. The girl hadn’t, and she was the one who really seemed over the moon for Turnsti—for Seven, I mean. Since he was a three-time surrender, a staff member went to the house before he was placed with them. The house and couple checked all our boxes—big, fenced-in yard to run in, among other things. But try as we might, we don’t always know.” Tess let out a breath.

“I’ll spare you the details, but he came back to us about six months later, only it wasn’t an owner surrender that time. Seven had been taken by police order to the city pound. I guess the next-door neighbors had called animal control a couple of times, but it wasn’t until they caught the man who’d adopted him on video that animal control was able to step in. Thank God they scanned this chip and called us, and we were able to get him back. That poor doggo got the spa treatment after that, and he needed it.”

Jenna blinked back tears, and Jake shook his head, clearing his throat. “It was physical abuse then?”

“That and neglect. From what the neighbors shared, he spent a good deal of the six months he was with that man crated—turns out he and the woman parted ways soon after they adopted him, and unfortunately it was the man who kept him. On top of the neighbors’ testimony, some of Seven’s teeth are more worn down than they should be at his age, so we think he did a decent amount of gnawing on metal—and obsessively licking his paws.” Tess sucked in a breath, and when she started next, her tone was more upbeat. “But he was young and resilient, and the important thing is we got him back.”

“Thank God,” Jenna said, her stomach tightening at the thought of what Seven had endured.

“He was here that time for close to six months as well, and everybody doted on him as much as he would let us, which basically means we gave him tons of treats and lots of exercise but hardly any petting since it seemed to add to his stress rather than relieve it, and shelters are notoriously stressful environments for dogs.”

“I’ve been trying the last few days, but he clearly prefers not to be petted,” Jake said.

“Except for by my nephews,” Jenna added. “They’re four and two. They were part of Seven’s most recent family. After he was there for a couple of weeks, he’d let my nephews put their hands all over him. But the whole month he was with them, he never once let my sister or her husband touch him. It was like they didn’t bond a bit.”

“Huh. Well, his relationship with the young boys shows he’s capable of trust, at least. I suspect he’s just really jaded. Understandably so.”

“I can see that,” Jenna said.

“He’s still young, so don’t give up hope. Border collies are long-lived, and he’s not much over two.” Jake and Jenna murmured in agreement as Tess continued. “So, I have few questions for you as well, but before moving on, I’ll finish up his history here. Like I said, he spent about six months with us that last time. Once he was available for adoption again, he was the picture of health, and his coat looked great. But he’s such a pretty boy, we didn’t want anyone getting drawn in by his looks and not thinking about his story or the work he’d require, so we didn’t list his picture online and only allowed people who inquired about him after reading his story—and who had experience with high-energy dogs—to meet him. When he left that last time, we really thought we’d found his forever home. Since he didn’t end up back here, I can’t tell you what happened.”

“I’ll call the shelter up here again tomorrow and see if I can find out anything they haven’t already told me. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”

“That would be great. I’ll add it to his notes. Oh, and Jenna, was it? Can I ask what happened regarding your sister not keeping him?”

“It is, and sure.” Meeting Jake’s supportive gaze, Jenna reminded herself that her sister’s failure with Seven wasn’t hers to own. “My sister came across him at a community pet adoption event and fell in love with him. When she found out he was from a shelter my mom had taken us to as kids, she thought it was a sign that he was meant for her and her family, and she jumped in headfirst, so to speak. Neither she nor her husband had ever had a dog, and not only does she have two kids under four, but she’s pregnant and due with baby number three in a few months.”

“Oh wow. Yeah, I can’t see Seven being a good fit for her family under those circumstances without having a slew of support lined up.”

“Unfortunately, she didn’t, and her world is just so busy. He’s a great dog though, and I fully support what Jake’s doing.”

“So, you two are stepping in to foster him?”

“Technically Jake’s fostering him, and I’m helping, but yeah.”

“Okay. Any other pets in the house?”

“Nope,” Jake said with a wink. “Just a sharp-looking Christmas cactus. How is he with other dogs though? I’d like to take him to a dog park, but he doesn’t seem interested in the dogs we’ve passed on the street.”

“I looked up his temperament before I called, and it’s pretty much what I remembered. He can mostly take other dogs or leave them. He doesn’t enjoy ones who are too forward in their play, but he was fine in enclosures with calmer dogs. He loves to run though. That’s his jam.”

Jake and Jenna both smiled at once. “Yeah, we noticed,” Jake said. “I’ve got him chasing down Frisbees. I was thinking about signing up for agility training.”

“Perfect! I can’t think of anything better than constructive play for him. Actually, I can think of one thing, but I bet it’ll prove just as challenging.”

“What’s that?”

“The way I see it, you should think of meeting Seven’s needs like a balance scale. He’s one of those dogs that it’s easy to say, ‘Give him plenty of exercise and he’ll be fine,’ and he does need that, but he also needs connection and reacclimating to human touch again. Even if it’s limited to when you hook and unhook him from a leash at first, if you can create a few quiet, peaceful moments every day to run your hand down his back from head to tail, even if he doesn’t love it, I’m positive he needs it. Feeding him out of your hands, offering him treats, gently brushing him, sitting on the floor with him, those kinds of things.”

Jake nodded slowly. “Thank you, Tess. I think that’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

“Yeah, well, I wish you both the best with him. He’s one of those dogs who’s going to make you work for it, but he’s worth the effort. I don’t know any trainers in Chicago to recommend, but I can ask around. And with him especially, I’d make sure whoever you find practices positive-reinforcement training only.”

“Absolutely. No question there.”

“You know, I’d be happy to do a few video sessions with you until you connect with someone up there. You can schedule them on High Grove’s website. If nothing’s available when you need it, just reach out to me again, and we’ll figure something out. Seven’s one dog I’d do just about anything for.”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Thank you, and the more I get to know him, the more I agree with you.”

After hanging up, Jake looked from Seven, who was still over at the window but staring their way expectantly, to Jenna. He shook his head as he dropped the pen to the table, processing the conversation.

Given how undefined this thing between them was, she reached out with a confidence that surprised her and closed her hand over his. “I didn’t get to say this earlier, given the sand in my eye and all, but that plant is hardly a sufficient thank-you for what you’re doing with him.”

Jake flipped his hand over so that their palms were pressed against each other. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just glad you’re helping, however you’re able. It’s daunting, but less so with you in the picture.”

“Thanks.” His words brought a smile to her face. “I’d like to think I’d have gotten to the shelter and changed my mind as well. I was so mad at my sister that night that I was hardly letting the experience in, but I’m sure it would’ve sunk in eventually, what taking him back actually entailed.”

Jake cocked an eyebrow. “Trust me, when you pulled into that lot, it would’ve sunk in. He was shaking in his boots. Figuratively speaking,” he added with a smile. “But what you said about being mad at your sister… Is that anything you’d want to talk about?”

Their hands were still entwined, and the warmth radiating out from his no longer seemed separate from the warmth in hers. Even so, his offer made her want to pull away and sit back in her chair, but she took a breath and waited out the temptation. If the last decade had proved anything, it was that the Jake Stileses in this world didn’t come around often. Hardly ever, in fact. “Is yes and no an answer?” she said with a soft laugh.

“When I was a kid, I’d have said no to that, but the older I get, the less black and white everything seems.”

Jenna nodded slowly. “The thing is, to tell you why I was mad at my sister, I’ll have to tell you about my mom. How about we clean up first though? My sister’s always joking about how there’s table talk and then there’s couch talk, and I can’t say she’s wrong about that.”

When Jake agreed, Jenna’s belly flipped like she was standing on a board at the deep end of the pool, something she rarely did. Unlike her sister, Jenna was one to test the water, first a toe, then the feet and ankles. It could take a full ten minutes before she got her hair wet, if she did at all.

But maybe there was a time to stop worrying about a little bit of momentary discomfort and just start swimming.