Doghouse by L. A. Kornetsky Page B

Teddy, perfectly content to flop down at his feet while Ginny went up to the counter to pay.
    The vet came out with Parsifal a few minutes after that, waiting until Ginny had finished at the counter before addressing them both.
    â€œWell, the good news is that the young fellow appears to be a healthy four- or five-month-old pup. I’m putting down mostly border terrier as a breed—there’s probably something else tossed in there, but not enough to worry about. He’s a cheerful thing, good-tempered. A little scrawny, and definitely underfed right now, but proper care and feeding should take care of that. He’ll probably max out at ten pounds—not quite a pocket pup, butmost apartment buildings won’t have an issue with him. He’s going to need a lot of exercise, though: they’re active breeds, terriers.”
    Teddy nodded, not sure what he was supposed to say at this point. Next to him, Ginny echoed his nod.
    â€œBut . . .” Williams’s voice dropped in the way that never brought good news. “I saw a few things that worried me. I assume that you were not planning to breed him?”
    â€œWhat?” Teddy looked at Ginny, and then back at the vet, who seemed to be expecting him to answer. “Um, no. No, I wasn’t.”
    â€œGood. I would suggest that you have him neutered sooner rather than later, just in case. I suspect his line’s already been inbred to the point of . . . well, not damage, but you may run into trouble when he’s older, and these are not genes you’ll want to pass on to another litter.”
    â€œYeah, okay. I’ll, um, I’ll make an appointment.” Teddy wasn’t going to keep the dog, but it was the least they could do, to make sure the little guy was adoptable. He’d charge it back to Seth, part of the unexpected expenses of the job. Maybe, if Deke could find a place, the two of them could stick together, two misfits, through no fault of their own. Teddy was pleased with that idea, even though he had no idea if the older man liked dogs, or could afford to keep one.
    â€œHow can you tell?” Ginny asked. “About the problems, I mean.”
    â€œIt’s not definite, not without lab testing, but there are small things you can guess from,” Williams said, answering her question without hesitation. “The way his ears fall, theshape of his muzzle, the way his hindquarters aren’t quite squared . . . there are certain things we see, especially when you have too small a breeding population, or a breeder is focusing too hard on one particular aspect and forgets to monitor others.” His mouth tightened, like he wanted to say something more, but didn’t. “But I don’t see anything that should cause serious medical issues right now. He’ll make a fine companion for someone.”
    â€œAnd he wasn’t chipped?” Thank God Ginny remembered to ask. Teddy was having trouble focusing on everything the vet was telling him, much less coming up with questions.
    â€œNo. And we ran the missing pets database and nobody’s reported anyone with his description missing. I take it you’re about as unsurprised by that as I am.”
    Ginny just shrugged, an entire conversation in that move.
    â€œI see.” Suddenly he was talking to Teddy again. “He’s got his starter shots, but he’ll need boosters later on. We’ll set you up with some puppy chow to start, and remember to make sure he gets more time on the sidewalk than Georgie-girl. He’s not used to holding it as long, right now.”
    â€œI still have some wee pads,” Ginny said, possibly a sympathy offering, as though she could tell Teddy felt like someone had just rammed him with an invisible truck. A small, cute, furry truck.
    â€œI’m not keeping him,” Teddy said, pretty sure that nobody was listening to him.
    Williams didn’t miss a beat.