Rescuing Finley (A Forever Home Novel Book 1)

by Dan Walsh

  Finley couldn’t help but catch her excitement. She must have seen Chris. She had to tell him to sit still, so she could connect the leash. “Are you ready? It’s time to go.” He wagged his tail in reply. As they stepped into the hallway, Finley saw that most of the other dogs and trainers were all heading the same way, toward the big room.

  Once there, it became obvious…this was definitely not a training day. It looked totally different. So many wonderful smells coming from tables set against the wall in the far corner. All the dogs noticed, their noses jabbing the air. A few began to pull on their leashes toward the food and had to be corrected. Miss Bridget said something and everyone lined up in single file.

  All the trainers put their dogs in a sit, but instead of facing the door they were all facing the center of the room. Miss Bridget walked to that spot and began to speak. Finley didn’t understand. Were they going outside or not?

  Chris wasn’t in here. He was out there.

  Amy was almost certain about what came next.

  Miss Bridget had everyone’s attention. “You old-timers know what we’re about to do. For you newbies, we’re going to go outside in a few moments and take our places for the ceremony. I’ve already shown you the separate section of seats off to the side that we set up for the dogs and trainers. We do this so everyone in the audience can see the dogs throughout the ceremony. And you, of course. You might have noticed the first row has only five chairs. Right now, before we go out, I’m about to announce the finalists for the Top Five Contest. After I announce the names, in just a moment, I want those five trainers and their dogs to move to the front of the line. Once we go outside, you five will sit in the first row. And at some point during the ceremony, I will announce from these five finalists which dog has been named Top Dog. That dog and that trainer will do a live demonstration for the audience.”

  Hearing these words sent a chill through Amy. Miss Bridget began to name the finalists, prefacing her statement with: “In no particular order…” All the girls clapped and cheered as each name was read. Some of the dogs couldn’t help but jump and bark in all the excitement.

  There were only two names left. Amy was so excited to hear Rita’s name spoken, followed by Charlie’s. More cheering and applause. Of course, Charlie was a perfect gentleman and walked right beside Rita toward the front of the line. As she passed by Amy, Amy said, “Congratulations, I’m so happy for you.”

  Miss Bridget allowed for a longer pause before reading off the last name. A sense of anticipation filled the room. Amy felt something else. She wasn’t sure if she was thrilled or terrified.

  “Amy Wallace and Finley,” Miss Bridget proclaimed.

  To Amy’s shock and surprise, the cheers and applause for her seemed twice as loud as for the others. She looked at Rita, who was cheering the loudest. Amy couldn’t help it. Her eyes began to tear up. She quickly blinked them back as she led Finley to the fifth place in line.

  “There you have it, ladies. Our Top Five finalists for class Number Twenty-Three.” Another round of applause. “With that settled, I believe we’re ready to go. Let’s go out and take our places. After you’ve all gotten your seats, I’m going to allow a few minutes for all the new veteran-owners to connect with you and their dogs. Then I’ll call everyone together, and we’ll get started.”

  50

  For two reasons, Kim Harper was a little nervous as she and her special guest made their way into the seating area for the graduation ceremony. First, she was always nervous when she spoke in front of a crowd. And second, she was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago to coordinate things with Bridget; her guest had been running late.

  But she was here now. They found two seats toward the back near the main aisle. “I’ll be right back,” Kim said. “I’ll leave my purse here next to you. I need to see that lady officer up front there by the podium for a minute, let her know I’m here.” Kim hurried down the main aisle toward Bridget.

  As she cleared the front row, Bridget saw her and waved. She was talking with someone but finished the conversation right as Kim arrived. They hugged and Kim said, “So sorry I’m late.”

  “You’re not late. We haven’t started yet. We’re just about to, though.”

  “That’s what I mean. You asked me to come fifteen minutes early.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you made it. Are you all set?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. When do you want me to come up?”

  “I’ll start to introduce you when the time comes. You’ll have enough time to make your way up here.” Bridget looked over her shoulder. “I saw that woman you came in with. Is that her?”

  “It is,” Kim said. “She’s part of the reason I was late. I’m so glad she came. I think it’ll make a special moment even more so.”

  “Me, too. Do you think she’ll come up with you?”

  “She said she would. As long as she doesn’t have to give a speech.”

  “That’s great. I can’t wait.” Bridget looked around at all the crowd. “Looks like everything’s in place. I better get things started.”

  Kim was just about to head back to her seat when she noticed Amy and Finley sitting on the front row. Finley had already seen her. His tail began wagging and his front feet pranced in place. “There you are, Finley.” She bent down as she reached him.

  “Greet, Finley,” Amy said firmly.

  Finley rushed up to Kim but did as he was told and sat like a perfect gentleman. His whole body was shaking with happiness. Kim reached down and put her arms around him, gave him a big squeeze. “Look at you. So behaved.” She stood but continued to pat his head.

  Amy stood as well. “I was hoping to get to talk to you before you leave.”

  “We definitely will,” Kim said. “I’m guessing it’s about the job?”

  Amy nodded. “Is it still…for real?”

  “Definitely. I’ll tell you all about it after the ceremony. But I better get back to my seat. It’s about to begin.”

  “I can’t wait to hear about it,” Amy said. “I’m so excited.”

  Kim leaned close and whispered, “And I can’t wait to see you and Finley do the obedience demonstration. Congratulations.”

  Amy smiled. “Chris is going to help us, to show how well the dogs respond to their new owners.”

  “That’s a great idea. Well, I better get back to my seat.”

  As Kim neared the back row, she was glad to see a television cameraman next to a young woman holding a microphone. They were standing a little further back. She decided to go up and introduce yourself. “Hi, my name’s Kim Harper, the Animal Behavior Manager at the Humane Society. I see you guys are with Channel 7. I’m the one who called you about the special story we’re going to share during the ceremony.”

  The young woman, a pretty redhead, smiled and held out her hand. “I recognize you, Miss Harper, from your picture on Facebook. My name’s Angela Morrow. Did everything work out like you planned?”

  Kim nodded yes. “But please, call me Kim. I don’t know how much of this you can show. But they’re going to call me up to introduce Finley and his trainer at some point. He’s the dog I told you about. I’m also going to share a little bit of Finley’s back story. Make sure you don’t miss that part. And I’ve just learned an added bonus just got added to the story. Chris Seger, the Afghan war veteran who’s going to become Finley’s new owner, will be coming up and to help Amy with the obedience demonstration.”

  “That’ll be perfect,” Angela said. “And that woman you came in with, she’s part of the story, right?”

  “Definitely. Don’t forget to include her. I’ll introduce you later.”

  “Can we interview you all afterwards? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

  “You can interview me, but I’m not sure how the others will feel. It won’t hurt to ask.”

  “Great, I’ll do that,” Angela said.

  Bridget’s voice came over the microphone. “Good morning everyone. Thanks so mu
ch for coming. If you’re all get to your seats, we’re about to begin.”

  Chris heard her, but what she said didn’t sink in. He was starting to feel hemmed in by the crowd. It hadn’t become a full-on panic attack. Not yet. He prayed a quick prayer. Please God, not here. Not now. Amy was counting on him. He had to get past this, hold it together.

  He had been doing okay at first. Better than he expected. He’d picked a seat on an outside aisle, thinking it would help. And it had…for a while. An aisle seat would make it easier to get up and help with Finley’s demonstration. But there were empty seats to the left of him. A big group had come in and stood right beside him. The first one in the bunch, a big guy, asked him politely to move in so they could sit in the same row.

  Chris should have stepped out into the aisle, let them all slide in past. It wouldn’t have taken but a second. But he didn’t. Instead, he started moving into the center. They filled in behind him. Now he was completely surrounded by strangers.

  He closed his eyes, tried to control his breathing. Mercifully, Finley’s face appeared in his mind. That peaceful, smiling face. One image after the other came; Finley reaching out to him, reassuring him, loving him without measure, resting his head on Chris’s lap. Chris opened his eyes and looked toward the row where Finley and Amy sat.

  He could just see Finley’s head leaning against Amy’s leg. He looked up at her adoringly. Seeing him had a calming effect on Chris. He looked at Amy’s face; she was looking toward the podium. They hadn’t talked yet, just exchanged smiles and a wave.

  She turned her gaze toward him now, to the aisle seat he had been sitting in before. She looked confused. Her eyes scanned the crowd for him. Chris lifted his right hand slightly to catch her attention. It worked. She smiled, made a face like she was relieved. They continued to look at each other a little longer. Her expression changed to concern. She mouthed the words, “Are you okay?”

  Could she tell he was struggling? She must. It felt very nice, though, this new feeling. Having someone who cared about you. He smiled and mouthed back the words, “I’m fine.”

  It wasn’t a lie. Not anymore.

  51

  Amy sat patiently listening to Miss Bridget speak. She spent the first several minutes welcoming everyone, singling out all the various officials and dignitaries in attendance. Polite applause followed. The superintendent of the prison then got up and spoke for a few minutes also. Mainly commending Miss Bridget and her staff for the wonderful job they were doing with the program. He also congratulated the inmate-trainers for successfully graduating another class of service dogs, talked about how pleased he was that their prison could make such a vital contribution to improving the lives of our returning war vets.

  Several times as they spoke, Amy looked at Chris. He was paying attention for the most part, but twice she found him looking right at her. Maybe it just seemed like he was. Maybe he was really looking at Finley.

  When the superintendent sat down, Miss Bridget came back to the podium. “Now it’s time for our big moment. Time to pass out the graduation certificates to all our trainers and their dogs.” She turned her attention to them. “The trainers and dogs will form a line to my left.”

  The inmates began to stand, so Amy did, too.

  Rita gently stopped her and motioned for her to sit back down. “The Top Five stay put to the end,” she said. “Miss Bridget will introduce us separately.”

  “As I call out your name,” Miss Bridget continued, “you can come up with your dog and get your certificate. If you want to share a few words, feel free. But you don’t have to. As I hand out the certificates, those of you in the audience, feel free to take pictures if you’d like. The only thing I ask is that you either do it from your seats or, if you do come up, please don’t block the view of the other guests.”

  In a few moments, all the other inmate-trainers had formed a line. Their dogs stood by their side, almost at attention. Finley started to whine and squirm a little. “It’s okay, boy.” She patted his head. “You’ll get your turn in just a minute.”

  Miss Bridget began to call the trainers and dogs, one by one. As she did, people applauded. Some dogs received louder applause than others. Amy guessed some had more guests attending the ceremony. She wondered if there’d be any applause for her and Finley.

  Well, she could count on at least one, Chris.

  As they came up, almost all the trainers said something to the crowd, even if only to introduce their dog, say a few things about how special they were, and thank everyone for coming. A few of the more outgoing ones talked for several minutes. Finally, everyone had received their certificates except the front row.

  “Now we stand,” Rita whispered to Amy.

  “You may have noticed we have five trainers and dogs who haven’t received their certificates yet,” Miss Bridget said. “They haven’t done anything wrong. Actually, it’s just the opposite. We started doing this last year, something we call the Top Five contest. My team and I pay especially close attention to the trainers and dogs in the last month of the class, giving various scores on a number of different training assignments. The trainers and dogs receiving the top highest scores receive special honor at the graduation ceremony. Please hold your applause until I read out all five names, and hand them their graduation certificates. Then you can let them have it.”

  She read aloud the names of each trainer and their dog. Amy and Finley were the last to be announced. One by one they went up, were handed their graduation certificate, shook Bridget’s hand, and stood off to the left. She then came back to the mic and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Prison Paws and Pals Program’s Top Five winners for Class Number Twenty-Three!” The applause was strong; this time it included all the other inmates. Several people in the audience stood. Amy guessed they were friends and family of the four ladies beside her. Then she noticed Chris standing with them. He smiled and pointed at her, then Finley. Then made the number one sign with his index finger and a gesture with his eyes that seemed to say, Guess what comes next?

  The applause died down and everyone returned to their seats, including the Top Five winners. “We have one more special event in our program this morning,” Miss Bridget announced. “Well, really two. I just introduced the Top Five trainers and dogs, but I haven’t yet the named who earned the prestigious title of Top Dog. All five trainers did a wonderful job with their dogs this time around, but one dog has edged out the rest. In just a sec I’ll name our Top Dog, then that dog and his trainer will put on a special obedience demonstration, so all of you can see many of the commands and behaviors all the dogs have learned over the past few months.”

  Miss Bridget paused. It seemed to Amy it was just to build suspense. She could almost imagine hearing a drumroll. She looked to her right and noticed the other four ladies, Rita included, sitting up straight in their seats, eyes set on the podium.

  “The Top Dog of Class number Twenty-Three is…FINLEY!” Finley’s ears perked right up when he heard his name. “Finley’s trainer, Miss Amy Wallace, is the youngest and newest trainer in our program.”

  Amy quickly stood. Before taking a step she heard, then saw, Chris stand in the middle of the audience and shout out, “Yay Finley! Woo-hoo, Amy!” Everyone else in the audience joined in with their applause. She couldn’t believe it. By the time she reached the podium, a new round of applause came from behind her. She turned to see all the other inmates, including the other Top Five finalists on their feet, clapping and cheering.

  After a few moments, things quieted down. Miss Bridget handed Amy a second certificate that showed Finley as the Top Dog for Class #23, and named her as his trainer. She asked Amy to remain standing there a few more moments.

  Looking back to the crowd, she said, “We have a special surprise for you all. I’ve asked someone who knows a little bit about Finley’s story to come up and share it with us. Kim Harper is the Animal Behavior Manager for the Humane Society. She’s also the one who helps pick out all of
our shelter dogs for this program. And she’s the one who hand-picked Finley and introduced her to Amy, which was obviously a perfect match. Kim? Would you join me and tell us all a little about Finley’s story?”

  Amy watched Kim Harper stand to light applause and make her way down the center aisle.

  52

  Kim had spoken publicly many times during the course of her job. She had even spoken at a number of these graduation ceremonies before. But this one was unusually crowded, and it was being covered by the local TV news. The only times she had appeared on the news before was answering questions in a scheduled interview, and it was usually just her, the reporter and a cameraman.

  As she stepped up to the podium, she took a deep breath and tried to remember just to be herself. She wasn’t here to impress anyone. Just the opposite; she was here to honor some precious people and one well-deserved dog.

  “Thank you Bridget—I mean, Captain Cummings.” She looked back to the crowd. “We’re good friends.”

  “You can call me Bridget,” she called out from her seat.

  Kim smiled at her then at the crowd. “I love it whenever I get a chance to talk about this wonderful program. To all you veterans here—those of you who’ll be taking home these precious dogs today—your lives are about to improve dramatically. Although, I probably don’t have to tell you that. I’m sure you’ve already begun to experience the benefits these dogs have to offer. I’ve lost count of the emails I’ve gotten from vets struggling with PTSD—some who said they were on the verge of calling it quits—who now tell me their lives have totally turned around. And it’s because of these dogs. When I get a chance to talk to them in person, they can hardly get a few sentences out before they start to choke up. They love their dogs so much and, Chris?” Kim looked through the crowd until she made eye contact with him. “I know you’re going to absolutely love Finley.”