Glimpses

Chapter 47

December 28th, 2021

The kennel farm that they were visiting that day was located North of Hartford, almost half-way to Springfield. But these little road trips of theirs were truly becoming something they enjoyed. There was the music, the conversation that never really died out because of not having things to say. When they were quiet, it was a comfortable silence. That felt liberating.

Logan hadn't heard much more from Ava after mentioning his fiance, just getting a contact to call about the hearing-impared puppy in case he was interested. The family had been already considering keeping the dog, as technically the problem wasn't genetic, but Logan was intrigued by the idea of taking on a challenge, feeling a little like an underdog in his present state as well. He'd done some research and even found videos on how to interact with dogs with hearing problems, and it wasn't impossible at all, just taking some more personal effort in the beginning by having to teach the dog sign language. But Shiba's were generally keen on learning and puppies were often very easily bribable.

The place was essentially a kennel, where dogs were brought either for doggy daycare or for dog hotel services, but they apparently also bred show dogs here - Shiba Inus and Samoyeds mostly as far as Logan had found out from their webpage. He was never too interested in the purity of the breed in the dog he would get, it was rather the personality, and that similar connection that Rory searched for in a house that he hoped to experience.

As they walked their way over to the house from their car, they noticed a pack of dogs, all in different shapes and sizes, playing, clearly enjoying themselves, in the yard, rolling and jumping in the snow. There were a few caretakers observing them, but there seemed to be little need for them. It was that kind of carefree fun that Logan hoped to experience once he got a dog. It was a whole other world Logan hadn't thought about all that much in the past and had only recently begun to dive into. This was something he was doing for him, fulfilling another type of dream that had nothing to do with monetary success. He'd defined his life for too long by that.

Already before they reached the service building, an auburn-haired woman, wearing a navy blue down vest, approached them.

"Hi there! How can I help you?" the woman asked.

"Hi, I'm here to see Ella Rangel. It's about the hearing-impaired Shiba puppy," Logan replied.

"Oh right, well I'm Ella," she replied, recalling having spoken to him before Christmas. "You must be Logan," she added.

"Logan Huntzberger," he said, offering to shake her hand.

It was strange that once the idea had been planted into his brain, he'd began to feel almost estranged from the name when he said it. Maybe he really did want to part from it?

"Nice to meet you," Ella replied.

"And this is my fiance Rory," Logan replied.

"Hi," Rory replied, feeling and looking way more out of place than Logan did in her wool coat. This was definitely not the place for fancier clothes, but Rory was relieved to have worn a pair of flat riding boots instead of her heels.

"So, let's go see Loki," Ella said, gesturing for them to follow her.

"Loki, is that his name?" Logan asked, having not gotten a lot of details on the dog.

"Yeah," Ella replied. "He's almost 8 weeks now which means that he's basically ready to leave his mother now. He's had a rough few months though, he's gotten IV antibiotics twice before he was even a month old and we weren't sure he'd make it. So his ears remain to be his sensitive area in that sense. The vet said that essentially he is not in any danger though he might need a little bit more frequent appointments to keep an eye on him, and it's suggested that during wetter months he has little cotton balls inside his ears, also there are special caps you could use. It looks a little funny, but they get used to it pretty soon. If he swims you should always dry his ears," she continued to explain, adding a number of details about infection symptoms, which Logan had already read up on.