@rayhere @CoCoM3L0N @sooya_ @TrinityJade @HyuneWifey @joy_senhouu brace yourselves - I've got EIGHT more chapters to post!
Chapter 7: Lucky
The date went surprisingly well for Taylor, considering this was her first time and all. She and Luke found that they had a lot in common, and they kept the conversation going the whole way through.
As they were walking out, Taylor heard some rustling in one of the bushes that flanked the entrance. When Taylor stopped to see what would happen next, Luke pulled her along.
“C’mon, Taylor,” he said. “It’s just the paparazzi.”
Taylor heard a plaintive whine coming from the bush, leading her to assume Luke was wrong.
“No, I think it’s a dog,” she said, breaking free to return to the bush. “Last time I checked, paparazzi didn’t make whiny dog noises.”
Luke sighed but decided to join her. Taylor pulled back the branches to see what was inside. Sure enough, a Lab-looking dog was huddled up on its haunches, shaking with fear. The dog’s fur wasn’t a solid color like a Lab’s, though; it was chocolate brown with a white streak down its belly.
Taylor tried to get it to come, but it didn’t budge. All it did was bare its teeth and nip at the intruder.
“Baby, don’t be scared,” Luke consoled. “We’re here to help you.”
This time, the dog bolted out of the bush and towards the parking lot.
“Luke, do something!” Taylor shrieked when she saw an incoming car. “There’s a car coming!”
Luke let out a beckoning whistle, but the dog still didn’t listen. The car almost ran over the poor thing, but luckily for the dog, it screeched to a halt right in front of him.
Taylor saw a man get out of the driver’s seat and greet the couple.
“Need a leash and collar for that dog?” he asked. “My wife and I were just coming here for dinner after we had to put our dog down, so we have one you can use.”
Taylor frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss. Are you sure, though?”
“Yeah, we don’t believe in holding onto the past.”
“How very kind of you, sir,” Luke complimented the man. The man opened the back car door and produced a spiked red collar and a long, red leash.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed Taylor the items. “Want me to help you catch him?”
Taylor and Luke agreed to this, and the three of them spent the next five minutes chasing down the dog. Eventually, the dog jumped over the barricade the separated the parking lot from the road. She gasped and tried to run, but Luke held her back.
“We’ll get him. Just wait in the car.”
From the safety of Luke’s car, Taylor watched as the dog ran into the traffic. Meanwhile, Luke and the other man dodged cars left and right until they eventually caught up with the dog on the other side of the road. By this point, her heart was pounding with fear for the dog and for Luke.
“Man!” Luke breathed as he put the dog in the back and climbed into the driver’s seat. “If his name isn’t Lucky, it should be!”
Taylor heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God you caught him! You scared me when you were running into that traffic.”
“I’ll bet not as much as I would’ve been if you’d been in my shoes,” Luke said with a smile. “Let’s get him to a vet. Which vet does Sunny go to?”
Taylor named the vet clinic and gave him their number to call. When he did, they told him he could be seen right away and gave him directions from Vinny’s.
“Are you going to keep him?” Luke asked Taylor when he got off the phone.
“I don’t know,” Taylor said. “This is kind of short notice to be bringing a stray dog into my house.”
“Well, I certainly can’t take him, what with the band being on tour right now. Call your parents and see what they say.”
She took her phone and did just that. Martha answered the call with, “Hey, hon. How’s the date going?”
“Oh, it’s going great!” Taylor mused. “Um… so, we picked up a stray dog, and Luke says he can’t take him. Is Sunny good with other dogs?”
“A stray dog,” Martha repeated with emphasis on “stray”. “Is he friendly?”
“We don’t know yet, but we’re taking him to the vet as we speak.”
“Okay. Make sure they do a behavioral assessment before you bring him in. I don’t want him coming to my house and making a mess out of Sunny.”
Taylor was confused now. What did that have to do with anything? “What do you mean by that?”
“Taylor, let me tell you a story.”
Taylor listened intently as Martha went into a story about how she’d brought in a stray dog when she was little. The new dog didn’t get along with their other dog at all, and they ended up rehoming him, to make a long story short.
“Martha, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Taylor reassured her. “Please, can we take him?”
Martha sighed. She still wasn’t keen on bringing in a second dog, especially if it was a stray… but then, Taylor had said something about wanting her own pet. She took so long to think about it that Taylor felt compelled to ask if she was still on the line.
“If he passes the assessment, and that will include how she interacts with other dogs, then yes, you can keep him. But do some research on socializing new pets, too. We’re willing to help, but at the end of the day, it is your dog.”
Taylor was satisfied with this answer. Not exactly happy because she hated research projects, but she was satisfied nonetheless.
“So, Lucky is a stray,” the vet tech informed Luke and Taylor, using the name Taylor had given him. “He’s 100% healthy, though – just really shaken up from his ordeal, and very hungry.”
“Oh, I’ll bet!” Taylor agreed.
“And we want to keep him overnight for the behavioral assessment.”
“This assessment includes how he interacts with other dogs, correct?” Luke asked.
The lady nodded. “Yes. We do that with every stray dog that comes in, as well as his attitudes towards children, strangers, and so on. Is there a good number we can call when he’s ready to go home?”
Luke gave her his cell phone number, and she sent them on their way.
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