Fight for Life
Chapter Fourteen
It only takes a few minutes to explain to Gran, but it takes Gran days to pull together “the necessary arrangements.” Gran wants to do things properly to ensure the animals are taken care of. Brenna grumbles about it all week. She thinks they should just swoop in and rescue the pups. But Maggie can see that’s a bad idea. David and Zoe cooked up a scheme to notify television stations, but Gran put an end to that one.
Finally, the big day is here. They drive through the pouring rain to Lafayette Road. Gran explains that good breeders provide pets with clean cages and food and water. They vaccinate them and are careful to only breed strong and healthy animals, with good personalities. But they won’t see any of that where they’re going. It’ll be filthy, and the dogs will be underfed and sick. Gran says any of them can stay in the car if they wish.
Maggie looks at her friends. David is anxious, Brenna outraged, Sunita worried, and Zoe concerned. But nobody backs out. They pull into a gravel driveway and see a hand-painted sign that says PUPPIES 4 SALE. The animal shelter van, driven by Captain Thompson, a retired army veteran, and a sheriff’s car pull in behind them. The animal shelter will take any healthy animals they can find. The sheriff will ensure everything is done legally.
In front of them is a two-story farmhouse and a small barn missing some windows that needs a fresh coat of paint. Maggie can hear the dogs barking painfully and sad. A man runs out of the house without a coat on. He is skinny and seems mean-tempered. He yells at them to get off his property.
Gran turns off the engine and tells the kids to wait in the car until she tells them it’s safe. Gran talks with the sheriff’s briefly, and then Gran knocks on Maggie’s window and tells the kids they can come out. The sheriff explains he has a warrant to look at the dogs, due to people complaining about the treatment of the dogs. Apparently, the two know each other because the sheriff calls him Larry. The puppy mill owner looks behind him. He says he hasn’t had a chance to clean them up today due to the rain. They should come back tomorrow.
Gran says she needs to inspect them now. Larry yells that he’ll call his lawyer and stomps into the house. Captain Thompson’s team from the animal shelter head to the front of the barn, and Gran, followed by the kids, go to the back. Maggie thinks maybe there’ll be four or five dogs, based on the barks.
But what they see was completely unexpected. It’s like a horrible jail for dogs. Dogs are crammed into small wire kennels, with ten kennels per row. Chocolate and yellow Labs, collies, and terriers. They’re all hungry and dirty. The kennels aren’t protected from the rain, and the dogs don’t have anywhere to go to the bathroom. A few dogs bark wildly at them, but the rest look too malnourished and tired to make any noise. Some have open sores where their fur has been rubbed away.
Maggie blinks to get rid of the tears in her eyes. How can anyone treat animals this way?
It takes more than an hour for Captain Thompson’s team to remove the dogs from the kennels. Gran examines each one quickly to decide who gets to go to the shelter and who needs to go to the clinic. Gran tells Captain Thompson’s team how to feed all the dogs properly. The van ends up needing to make two trips.
When they’re finally ready to take the rest of the animals back to Gran’s clinic, Gran instructs the kids to be puppy incubators, and to hold the freezing puppies in a towel close to their body skin. They look out the window to see the sheriff shaking hands with Larry, smiling at each other. Maggie hands her puppy over to the others and dashes out the door. She counts the strikes of lightning and the thunder. It’s close, and Maggie is petrified, but she keeps going.
Maggie asks if Larry is going to be arrested. The sheriff says that Larry tried to take care of the animals. But he lost his job and hurt his back. Larry shakes his head side to side, as if he really cared about the dogs. What a fake! The sheriff says Larry got a warning and he’ll have to help out with Dr. Mac’s vet fees.
Maggie is furious. She fumbles in her pocket and pulls out her notes from the library. She says that Larry has to be charged. According to the Dog Purchaser Protection Act, Section 9.3. Half the dogs look ready to die. Larry should be charged with neglect, abuse, and cruelty. The sheriff uses his radio to contact the office. The sheriff taps his boot impatiently.
The sheriff listens to his dispatcher, and then looks up. He says Maggie is right. Larry will have to be charged. Maggie turns around to see Gran standing behind. Her hair is plastered to her head, the rain soaked her sweatshirt, but her eyes are warm and proud. She gives Maggie a big hug.