Gem

by Jane B. Mason

  Roxanne smiled down at the eager-to-please pup and immediately tossed her the toy—a reward. So far, so good! Gem was interested in playing and seemed to know some basic commands—or was at least able to read body language. And even more important, she sat and looked into Roxanne’s eyes when the trainer called her off. Gem wanted to understand. She wanted to please.

  Juniper watched all of this, her expression uncharacteristically blank.

  “You can go look at the cats now if you want,” Roxanne told her, thinking the girl was finally getting bored. She was surprised the cat-crazy Sterling had deigned to linger this long with a hound. “Aren’t you here to scout for the next feline phenom?”

  Juniper, though, didn’t budge. And she completely ignored the question. “So, that’s good, right?” She pointed at Gem, who was still playing with the ball on a rope. “That the dog wants to play?”

  Roxanne nodded. “Definitely.” She glanced around the dog run, considering the next part of the assessment. “Do you want to help with the next bit? Try and hide the toy?” she asked.

  Juniper flashed a rare smile and nodded emphatically. “Ohhhhh! So this will tell you if Gem sniffs as well as she digs!”

  Roxanne nodded and skillfully distracted Gem from the toy so Juniper could retrieve it. The girl picked up the drooly ball and skipped to the end of the dog run, where there was a stand of evergreen shrubs. She buried the toy deep in the branches of the thickest one, ignoring the prickles. She stepped back and peered into the bush from several angles. It wasn’t visible at all.

  As she returned to the spot where Roxanne and Gem were waiting, Juniper worried that maybe she’d hidden the toy too well. She wanted to challenge Gem. She also wanted to see her succeed! Her face scrunched up with worry.

  “Okay, now let her smell your hands,” Roxanne said. “So she can get the scent of the toy.”

  Juniper held out her hands. Gem stepped forward and pushed her dark nose into Juniper’s open palms, going back and forth between them, huffing and snuffling. When she had gotten her fill, she stared up at Juniper and let out a bark. “Woof!”

  Juniper shrugged in response, wiping her slightly damp hands on her jeans and then holding them out again, empty. “Where’d it go, Gem?” she asked. Gem didn’t know what she was saying but liked her playful tone. “Go get it!” Juniper added.

  Gem dashed away. She lifted her snout, sniffing, and then put it to the ground. She followed her nose to the spot where Juniper had stashed the chewed-up tug rope. It took some determination—she had to shove herself into the poky hedge—but she finally got her teeth around the handle and yanked the toy out of its hiding place. She pranced back to the tall lady and the girl, looking pleased.

  Roxanne nodded to herself. Gem’s tail was waving proudly, like a flag in a breeze. The depressed dog in the kennel was nowhere to be seen.

  Juniper was eyeing Roxanne. “So, are we taking her?” she asked.

  Roxanne was thoughtful. “There’s more to check out,” she replied. She needed to make sure Gem didn’t startle easily, for one. There wasn’t anything in her history that would indicate she did, but it was always wise to check. She asked Juniper to take Gem to the bench about twenty yards away and distract her enough so that she didn’t see Roxanne approach. When they were settled, Roxanne walked up and abruptly shrieked in mock alarm. Gem turned her head toward the trainer but remained calm and primarily focused on Juniper. A definite pass.

  “Anything else?” Juniper wanted to know. “Can we take her now?”

  Roxanne half wondered what would happen if she said no—Juniper’s face wore a fighting-words look. For a nine-year-old, she was formidable. Luckily, Roxanne wasn’t about to turn this dog down. She nodded, wearing a wide smile. “Yes, we can take her now.”

  Gem stood in the reception area of the shelter wagging and wagging and wagging. She couldn’t believe that these people wanted to take her home! They smelled delicious … even better than Richard and his burger cologne! The smells of these two swirled together—gummy bears and dog and happy and cat—and made Gem’s tail move back and forth extra fast! She licked Juniper’s hand while Roxanne and the lady behind the desk took care of the paperwork.

  Gem heard a door open and turned to see Edna hustling out of the kennel area, beaming and carrying the tug toy from the dog run, which Gem adored.

  When she heard that Roxanne and Juniper were taking Gem home, and exactly what that home was, Edna’s best hopes were realized. She’d watched the threesome outside through the small window in the door to the dog run, and was thrilled with what she saw. Roxanne very clearly knew dogs … and also loved them. Edna was filled with relief. The Sterling Center was a dream for a smart, sensitive pup like Gem. And now Edna understood that a job was what the golden retriever had needed all along! And on top of that, if Gem didn’t become a search and rescue dog, the Sterling Center would let her stay with them until they found an appropriate home for her. It was really too good to be true!

  When all the papers were filled out, Edna followed Roxanne and Juniper out to the parking lot. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Gem is a special dog. She deserves a good life and a lucky break.”

  Roxanne reached out a hand to Edna. “No, thank you,” she said. “I think we might be the lucky ones.”

  Edna blinked back a tear as she crouched and buried her nose in the dog’s silky fur. “I’m going to miss you, girl,” she whispered. Then she laughed a little belly laugh. “Probably more than you’ll miss me!”

  Gem licked Edna’s face again and again, leaning against her. Every lick was a thank-you. Then she and Edna played a final brief game of tug, which Gem won. Everyone watched her quick victory shake, and then Gem hopped into the back seat of Roxanne’s truck with the toy in her mouth.

  Edna stood up and saw right away that her black pants were covered in reddish-golden hair. A parting gift. She sighed and waved goodbye, happy to have a little bit of Gem still with her.

  “What a great surprise,” Roxanne said as they pulled out of the parking lot. The Sterling Center was always on the lookout for dog recruits and Roxanne visited shelters when she had extra time, though that wasn’t often. Mostly their recruits were called in to them—someone had a pup who wasn’t fitting in elsewhere or showed amazing promise, so they contacted the ranch and asked them to come evaluate. It was rare to bring a dog back from a casual look-see at a shelter.

  “Hey … we didn’t look at the cats!” Juniper exclaimed, suddenly realizing that she’d completely forgotten about her mission to snuggle a posse of kittens. How was that even possible? She never forgot about cats. Ever!

  “That okay?” Roxanne asked.

  Juniper nodded, surprised. It really was okay. Under normal circumstances, she would have been pouting about missing out on the felines or preparing to launch into a multipart argument about why they should turn back immediately—especially since she’d been in a terrible mood when they’d left the ranch and seeing kittens was her entire plan. But she wasn’t. And she wasn’t in a bad mood anymore, either. She was all smiles and excitement. She turned halfway around and reached an arm out to Gem, who was panting in the narrow back seat. There was something about this dog …

  The car ride was longer than the one to Richard’s—a lot longer. Gem rode in the center of the back seat, looking out the windshield between the tall lady and the girl. Neither of them talked much, but now and then Juniper would turn, put her hand on Gem’s neck, and give a reassuring scratch.

  When they finally stopped, Gem could tell right away that they were in a very big place. Roxanne let the pup out of the car, and Gem sniffed her way across the parking lot to a grassy area beside a building to relieve herself.

  “Come on, Gem!” Juniper called. “We’ve got places to go and people and cats to meet!” She clipped a lead on the dog and opened the door, tugging Gem into a big reception area. It was kind of like the one at the shelter but also different. For one thing, it smelled like happy dogs, not fear.
It also smelled like people.

  Aromas of nail polish and coffee with sugar wafted off the girl behind the desk. “And who is this?” she wanted to know as she left her seat and came to greet Gem.

  Juniper planted her hands on her hips. “This is Gem!” she announced. “And don’t get too attached, Shelby. I found her!” She crouched down next to Gem and whispered, “That’s Shelby, my oldest sister. She thinks she knows everything.”

  Another, older person with a halo of long, dark hair came out of a small room next to the reception and peered curiously at Gem.

  “Mom! Look!” Juniper crowed. Then she cleared her throat, as if remembering her manners. “Gem, this is my mother, Georgia. She is in charge of pretty much everything around here.” She grimaced. “Especially me.”

  Georgia smiled. “You got that right,” she said, winking at her youngest. “Nice to meet you, Gem.” Georgia bowed her head a little in greeting. Gem was about to step closer and rub a few hairs onto the woman’s long skirt when another woman came in. She had short white hair and pale skin and seemed surprised to see the crowd in the reception room.

  “Well, hello!” she chirped.

  Juniper turned slightly. “Grandma! You’re just in time! I’m doing introductions! Gem, this nice lady is my grandmother Frances.” She gestured back toward her mother, who was still enjoying the scene. “Frances is my dad’s mom. She started this whole entire place, but now Mom runs it and Grandma is retired. Mostly.”

  The women all laughed at that, but Gem wasn’t really listening. She was lifting her nose past Frances to the big, slow-moving chocolate Lab who had followed her in and was sniffing her way over. “Be nice to Gem, Cocoa,” Juniper told the big brown dog, though Cocoa was the calmest dog on the ranch … and the oldest. Cocoa sized up Gem, giving her a good sniff. Her eyes were starting to get a little milky, but her nose still worked great. Gem sniffed back, and both tails wagged in unison.

  “Where are Bud and Twig?” Juniper wanted to know. “I have to introduce them to Gem!”

  Shelby shrugged. “Probably giving each other makeovers in your room. You know, in preparation for their upcoming movie careers.” The corners of her lips twitched upward into a smirk, making Juniper scowl.

  “Not funny, Shelby,” Juniper protested while the others tried to hide their giggles. “Come on, Gem,” she said, tugging lightly on the leash. “I have better things to do than stand here and be ridiculed by Shel-beeeeee.” Juniper flounced toward the door, and Gem happily trotted beside her, toenails clicking on the tile floor.

  Roxanne shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the trio of ladies and went after Juniper and Gem despite the fact that she hadn’t exactly been invited.

  Outside, the girl-and-dog duo didn’t get far before they ran into two men working on some kind of giant digging machine. “This is Gem,” Juniper announced proudly. “I picked her.” The two men shared a look of amused surprise. Roxanne raised her brows in their direction but didn’t correct the youngest Sterling.

  “Gem, this is Pedro.” She pointed to the shorter man with a close-trimmed beard, who crouched down in front of Gem to say hello. “He’s in charge of the people who come to work with the dogs.” The bearded man held his hand out gently, and Gem gave it several licks. He tasted like Takis!

  “And this is my dad, Martin.” Juniper pointed to the other, taller man. He had short whitish hair, and not much of it. “He is in charge of all the machines and buildings on the ranch.” She waved a hand all around the big place, gesturing to the buildings. Then her eyes settled on the excavator and she let out a hoot of laughter. “Hey, Dad, they say Gem is a digger! Just like your machine!”

  Martin half smiled and shook his head. “We just might need her services, then, if we can’t get this thing fixed. It’s been making me crazy for the past week. I can’t figure out what the problem is!”

  “Oh, well, I’m sure Gem could handle any digging for you,” Juniper said, petting the dog proudly. “According to the notes on the clipboard at the shelter, she’s obsessive! But that little obsession is part of what will make her a great SAR dog.”

  Martin gazed at his daughter—the one he had helped search and search for her missing cat, the one who made him watch hours of cat-training YouTube videos, the one who claimed dogs were overrated and undersmart. “Who are you and what did you do with my cat-loving June Bug?” he asked with mock seriousness.

  Juniper rolled her eyes. “Daaaad. I am right here!” she said. “And I am still one hundred percent dedicated to my kitties. Gem is just … special.”

  Martin nodded gravely. “Obviously.”

  Juniper waited expectantly until Pedro and Roxanne nodded their agreement as well.

  “And now for the best part, Gemmy,” Juniper said, moving on. “The canine pavilion!” She led the new recruit to a big door in a big building. Inside was the biggest, best place that Gem had ever seen that didn’t have dirt for digging.

  Two kids were working near a row of kennels. They both glanced up when the door opened, and Gem smelled their surprise. She’d been smelling surprise since she got here!

  The two kids stopped what they were doing and hurried over to meet the dog. Juniper let out a puff of air, as if she were tired of introductions. “Who is this gorgeous pup, Roxanne?” Morgan asked, ignoring her sister and bending down to look into Gem’s eyes.

  “She’s a looker for sure …” Forrest nodded approvingly. “And sweet,” he added when Gem licked him for the compliment.

  “This is Gem. I found her at the shelter … didn’t I, Roxanne?”

  “You sure did,” Roxanne agreed, giving Forrest and Morgan a wink. “Gem has a good nose, and it would seem Juniper has a good nose for finding new recruits, too.”

  “Gem, this is Forrest and this is Morgan.” She motioned at the boy and girl in turn, then shook her head, making her braids swish. “They’re both older than me. Everyone is older than me.”

  Gem took her time sniffing the new kids. They smelled like books, and dogs, and peanut butter, and soccer fields—all things Gem liked. So far, Gem liked everything about this place. This building was sort of like the shelter, with kennels and bins of food and leashes, but also not like the shelter, because the people and the dogs were happy. There was not a whiff of fear or sorrow. None of the dogs were whining, or barking and barking and barking, or lying limply on their beds like unstuffed squeaky toys. This place smelled like … joy.

  “Where’s her food?” Juniper asked. “I want to feed Gem her first meal on the ranch.”

  Morgan narrowed her eyes a little suspiciously, as this was not typical Juniper behavior. She rarely stepped foot inside the canine pavilion, unlike her and Forrest, who worked there every day before and after school and on weekends. Morgan and her next oldest sibling could not get enough of dogs! Still, Morgan didn’t tease. She generally admired her little sister’s utter dedication to whatever it was she decided to dedicate herself. Juniper did not mess around! Morgan glanced up and got an “okay” nod from Roxanne.

  “Come on, I’ll show you,” she said, waving her toward the area of the pavilion that housed the dog food.

  The sisters fed Gem together, and while the dog ate, Morgan set up a kennel. After she finished eating, Juniper escorted Gem inside and led her to her thick, comfy bed, giving her soft fur a final pet for the day. “I think you’re going to like it here,” she whispered in Gem’s ear. Gem sighed and rested her head on her paws. She thought so, too.

  Juniper opened her eyes before the sun came through her window, her brain full of Gem. She couldn’t remember the details, but she was pretty sure she’d just been dreaming about the golden dog. Something about a picnic with gourmet cat and dog treats? She shook her head to rid herself of the fuzzy images and gently scooched Bud and Twig off her pillow.

  “Good morning, gentlemen!” she said as they settled back down. She hopped out of bed, hurriedly pulling on her favorite jeans and a sweatshirt, and felt a tiny tug of guilt for wanting to see
Gem so badly when the loves of her life were right here. She quickly brushed the feeling aside.

  “Who wants breakfast?” she asked before heading downstairs.

  The cats lazily got to their feet and stretched—it was early, but they didn’t like to miss food—and jumped down onto the shaggy carpet Juniper kept next to her bed. Bud paused to lick a fuzzy white paw.

  “Meow,” Twig complained, protesting the early wake-up on a Sunday.

  “I know,” Juniper agreed, bending to scoop him into her arms for a cuddle. “But I have to go somewhere.” She tromped down the stairs and into the kitchen with Twig in her arms and Bud on her heels. She filled their bowls with kitty kibble, then added a scoop of wet food on top … giving them both a little extra. The moment their bowls were on the ground, she dashed out the door to the canine pavilion. Her body felt kind of tingly, like it did on her birthday before she blew out the candles. She couldn’t wait to see Gem!

  Inside, Morgan and Forrest were already hard at work, doing the daily morning chores of feeding and watering and walking the dogs. They didn’t expect anyone to come through the door this early on a Sunday, and when they saw it was Juniper, they couldn’t hide their surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” Forrest asked. Morgan just blinked and tossed her hair twists out of her eyes.

  Juniper ignored them both and beelined to Gem’s kennel. When Gem saw her, she got to her feet and came to the kennel door, wagging. She licked Juniper’s kitty-kibble-flavored hand through the chain link.

  “Good morning, Gemmy!” Juniper crooned. She put her face right up to the fencing to get an up-close lick. “Oh, I missed you, too!”

  Morgan and Forrest watched in shock. Finally, Juniper turned in their direction. “I’m here to take care of my dog,” she announced.