Devlin looks at me, "Uhmm Dana, you still here with me?" His words brought me back to the present. "Yeah, was there something you said?" I say ashamed. "I asked you why it is you're always so good with animals." Shit, he really is expecting an answer now... I promised the old man not to tell him. What should I say? "I don't know, I think I just look friendly?" I shrug as I say those words. "So, you're saying I'm not friendly?" He looks away, I can't really tell if he's mad at me or not, but I already regret my choice of words. "Dev! You know I didn't mean it like that!" I say as I give him a genuine smile. "Yeah, I know" he replies, still feeling a bit down. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you" I add. He smiles again after those words. "Oh well" I gesture at the puppy I'm holding "We should take this little fella to the vet first. Get him cleaned up and see if he needs treatment. That wound looks really bad."

A bit later we step into the vet's office. A 35 year old woman with light brown eyes and her blond hair in a high ponytail, walks out of a room. She's wearing a white top and her long, light grey coat. The coat is open and the sleeves are rolled up. She usually does that right before she goes on a break. Soruya, my female best friend, who happens to be a vet. "Soruya" I call out to her. A smile appears on her face as we walk closer. "Hey Soruya, can you take a look at this puppy please?" She sighs "Could've known you two weren't gonna give me a break yet." She's not angry, as she gives us another smile. Then she quickly observes the puppy and says "I haven't had the time to clean the examine table yet. You should wash the puppy in the mean time and I'll call you when I'm done."

Devlin follows me into a small room with a special dog bathtub. I tell Devlin to get the water running as I carefully place the puppy in the bathtub. It licks my hand and a bit later, on the edge of the tub, lands Buddy. He keeps leaning forward to get closer to the puppy. However, he almost falls in, so I gesture him to back off. Devlin hands me the hose as I grab a bit of dog shampoo and I carefully start to clean the puppy. Soon I start to notice the water turning all brown and black from all the dirt and mud. Slowly the puppy reveals his actual fur color. It wasn't a chocolate labrador at all, but a golden retriever puppy. Thankfully the wound also appears to be smaller now. It must have been the dried blood that made it look so huge.

I had just finished cleaning the dog as it licks my hand some more. Devlin softly strokes his fur and the puppy licks his hand too. Soruya walks in on us and laughs as she sees the love we get from our new canine friend. "The examination room is ready for you now."