A Hairy Tail Read online

“These are the sponges, first you have to get them all wet and then rub in the shampoo,” the manager, she had introduced herself as Cory, explained. “Then rinse them off again. Let them shake off the excess water and give them a rub down with the towel. Got it?”

  Hannah seriously doubted whether she did indeed get it. “Got it.”

  “Good luck then.” Cory left her in the room alone with nothing but a tub and a sponge. She didn’t even have a clue where to start. When Cory asked Hannah if she wanted to get close and personal with the dogs, she didn’t think she was being tricked into washing them.

  Looking at the row of animals in their cages, Hannah questioned for the hundredth time whether she was doing the right thing. She didn’t think it would be so sad seeing all the animals without homes.

  But she had a job to do and unless she did it, she would be there all day with her hands in warm water. She started with the smallest dog and worked her way up. After all, how much trouble could a little dog be?

  Hannah soon found out. The little ones were wily and tricky, they were smart enough to avoid the sponge wherever they could. As it turned out, the bigger ones were much easier. They just stood there, unable to thrash about in the tub. Hannah made a mental note to keep her eyes on the small ones.

  With one dog left, she stood in front of his cage. He was lying down, his head resting on his front paws. He didn’t move to look at her, instead just his eyes lifted to meet hers. They were big and brown, but she didn’t notice this at first. What Hannah saw was a painful sadness in his eyes.

  “What’s up, boy? You want a bath?”

  He didn’t move, just turned his eyes back to the floor again. She wasn’t sure what breed he was, a little Labrador, a little Terrier, and perhaps a little German Shepherd. He didn’t seem to be anything in particular – just depressed.

  “A warm bath will make you feel better.” She tried to sound excited but it wasn’t convincing either of them. He could probably see how wet she was and sense it wasn’t making her feel any better.

  He wasn’t budging. She carefully slid a hand underneath his belly and carried him over to the tub. He didn’t argue or fight, he didn’t even fidget. He just sat down in the water like he was pretending he was somewhere else.

  Hannah sponged him carefully in case he was in any pain. He wasn’t whimpering or anything, he just wasn’t doing anything. It was weird, and she had to admit it made her a little uncomfortable.

  “What’s your story?” She asked him, never expecting an answer. It would have been cool though.

  “He’s been here for three months.” The male voice came from behind, startling Hannah so much she threw the sponge into the air. It came down – right on top of her head. Soap and suds slowly started sliding down her face.

  “Do you always sneak up on people?” She asked grumpily as she turned around. “It’s not very-”

  She stopped mid sentence as she saw who she was talking to. He was probably the cutest guy she had ever seen in her life – ever. His dark hair was thick with waves as it framed his gorgeous face. Setting it off were emerald green eyes that sparkled with his amusement. All the words suddenly fell right out of her head.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he started. She instantly forgave him. “His name is Basil and he’s been here for three months, that’s his story.”

  She suddenly realized he was answering her question and she needed to say something too or she would look like an even bigger fool than she already did. “Oh. Three months? That’s a long time, right?”

  “Yeah, I think that’s why he’s so sad, nobody’s claimed him yet. You must be new here, I’m Harry.”

  “Hannah. I started today.”

  “I can tell.” He grinned.

  “I wouldn’t have thrown the sponge if you didn’t sneak up on me,” she pointed out, hating the way her face was burning with blushing.

  “I just meant they always make the newbies wash the dogs. It’s like an initiation ritual.”

  The burning was even worse now. Hannah doubted whether she would ever recover from the embarrassment. “Oh, right.”

  “Have fun,” Harry said before walking backwards to sidle out the door.

  Hannah let out the breath she was holding, wondering where her dignity had gone. The cutest guy on the planet and she had already made a fool of herself within ten seconds of meeting him. She deserved an award, it had to be a record.

  She finished washing Basil and gave him extra attention when drying him. If he was lonely and missing his family, she wanted to at least let him know someone cared about him. If only she could get the dog to cheer up, his sad look was starting to get to her.

  Cory returned to check on her progress. “All done?”

  “Every single one of them. As you can see.” She looked down at her soaking wet clothes. Every dog there had managed to spatter her with water. Plus the walls, the floor, and the windows too.

  “Good job. Why don’t you mop up this water and then play with the animals? You’ve earned some play time.”

  It sounded a lot easier than her first task. “Sure, I’d love to.”

  Hannah knew exactly which dog to start with. She quickly ran a mop over the floor and opened Basil’s cage. Again, he didn’t even begin to react. She picked him up and took him outside to the play area.

  The area was really just a patch of grass with a fence around it, but it was outside in the sunshine and that had to make any dog happy. She placed him on the ground, making sure his four legs were holding his weight before letting go.

  “Go for a run, Basil, go on,” she urged. When he didn’t move, she gave him a gentle nudge of encouragement. He took one step and stopped again.

  She did the running for him, trying to get the dog to chase her. He reached almost up to her thigh so they couldn’t run too far in the pen. Basil just stared at her like she was too much trouble.

  Giving up, Hannah sat on the ground next to him. She put her arm right around his shoulders, bringing him in for a hug. Basil just let her, not doing anything to encourage or dissuade her.

  “Someone will come and get you, Basil,” she whispered.

  Footsteps stomped behind her, Hannah looked around quickly and saw Harry standing there, waiting.

  “I thought I would make sure you heard me coming this time, I wouldn’t want you to accidently strangle Basil.” His impossibly beautiful smile spread across his impossibly perfect lips.

  “How kind of you,” she replied sarcastically, trying to play it cool. The last thing she wanted to do was betray her fast-beating heart.

  He sat on the other side of Basil, his hand absentmindedly stroking him. “He misses his family.”

  “I would too if I hadn’t seen them in three months. Is he always this sad?”

  Harry nodded. “Ever since he arrived. When he was found he was all thin and his hair was scraggly, he’d been out on his own for a while.”

  “He doesn’t have a microchip or any identification? Something we can use to find his family?” Hannah figured they’d probably already done all they could, but had to ask anyway.

  “He’s an enigma. He wasn’t wearing a collar and he’s not microchipped. There’s no way of telling where he has come from. Cory ran his picture in the paper a few times but nobody ever came forward.”

  “So how do you know his name?”

  Harry held Basil’s face in his hands, rubbing his ears. “Don’t you think he looks like a Basil? I think he does.”

  Hannah couldn’t argue, he did kind of look like a Basil. She couldn’t see him as a Buster or Buddy or anything else more dog-like.

  “So what’s going to happen to him?” She asked, hoping for some good news.

  “He needs to be adopted,” Harry started. “But the problem is, he ignores anyone that looks at him. Everyone that wants to adopt just walks straight on by.”

  “He’s waiting for his real family.”

  “I think he is,” Harry replied. They both nodded in silence
as Basil laid himself down, his head on his paws.

  CHAPTER 3