The Curse Оf Hollister House

Naomi and I might have been close in high school, but she tended to be a friendly extrovert who spent a lot of her time involved in both school and community activities, and I was something of a loner who, other than hanging out with Cass, spent most of my time daydreaming in the attic or practicing the piano. Not that I didn’t have friends, but other than Stella and Cass, I can’t say that I really had many close friends. Naomi was nice enough, and I enjoyed spending time with her during our volunteer hours, but I supposed in my heart I knew I was leaving this sleepy, small town as soon as I was able, so why put a lot of time into cultivating intimate relationships there? I’m sure there were those who would say that I was afraid of bonding with anyone after I lost Stella, and perhaps they’d be right.

Naomi was sitting on her front porch bottle feeding a tiny puppy when I arrived at the shelter. There were three other teeny, tiny puppies in the box next to the rocker. I bent down to take a look while she hummed a soft tune and gently rocked the newborn in her arms.

“They’re so tiny,” I said, sliding into the rocker next to her.

“Born yesterday,” she replied.

“And the mama dog?”

“I’m afraid she didn’t make it.”

“Can I help?”

She nodded. She handed me the pup she’d been feeding and the bottle he’d been eating from, then made another bottle for the next pup in line. It took a lot of dedication to do what she did. These pups would probably need to be fed around the clock for quite some time. I wondered if she took on such a huge task on her own or if she had volunteers who took one or more of the pup’s home.

“How often do they need to eat?” I asked.

“Every four hours in the beginning.”

I smiled down at the tiny baby in my arms. “That seems like a big commitment.”

“It is, but I’ll happily do it if need be.” She began to rock back and forth with the next pup in line. “I may not have to, however.”

“And why is that?” I began rocking the pup in my arms the way I’d seen Naomi do it.

“I have a surrogate on the way. If the pups and the surrogate bond, I’ll send the pups home with the woman who offered the service of her dog.”

I frowned. “Surrogate?”

Naomi adjusted the pup in her arms. “My friend, Kimmy, has a golden retriever who is in the process of weaning her own pups. They do well drinking regular puppy formula mixed with kibble from a bowl, so Kimmy had the idea of trying to wean them early and introducing these pups to her mama dog in the hope that she’d nurse them. I’ve tried something similar in the past. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. The key to the whole thing is using a surrogate who is laid back enough to accept the new pups as her own. Luckily, Beatrice is about as laid back as they come.”

“Beatrice is Kimmy’s mama dog?”

Naomi nodded.

I smiled at the pup in my arms. “I hope it works out. It does seem like it would be the best solution for these little guys. I’m sure they will be fine either way, but it seems as if little ones need the love and nurturing of a mother, or at least a mother substitute.”

“I agree. It would be the best solution. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be in for a few weeks of long nights. It isn’t fun, but I’ve done it before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again.”

I finished feeding the pup in my arms and went on to the next one. “One of the reasons I came early was to talk to you about volunteering. I enjoy working with Cass and plan to continue to come by on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, but I have time on my hands right now and would like to do more.”

“I can always use help. Do you know anything about dog training?”

“Not a thing,” I answered honestly.

“I can show you what to do. As I explained before, I like to put all my dogs through a basic training class before I put them up for adoption. I need volunteers to work with the dogs going through the current class. It is best if they can practice the behaviors they are learning every day.”

“That seems like a big commitment.”

“It is, but the key to success is constant reinforcement of the behavior. If you’re interested, I can train you on what to do, and once you feel confident, I can assign you one or more two-hour shifts a week.”

“The dogs train for two hours?”

“Thirty minutes each, which includes ten minutes of play, so each volunteer can do four dogs in the two hours. I have ten dogs in the class right now. They really need to be worked six days a week at a minimum, so that is sixty sessions, which equates to fifteen volunteer shifts. So far, I have twelve of those shifts covered and am looking for volunteers to take on the other three.”

“So I would commit to a two-hour shift where I would show up and work with four dogs for thirty minutes each to reinforce the training they receive in your class?” I clarified.

“Exactly. Are you interested?”

“I am. When do you need me?”

“The three shifts I have open are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The time of day doesn’t matter, so I allow my volunteers to set their own schedules. You plan to be here to work with Cass on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, so I sort of hoped you’d come early on those two days and knock out two of the three open shifts.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’m in. I’ve never trained a dog in my life, but I’m willing to learn.”

“That’s all I ask. I have a training class on Monday. Would you be willing to come to observe? That will give you an overview of what we do. If you think you can make it work, we’ll start working you and one of the dogs on Tuesday.”

I glanced down at the tiny pup in my arms. I wondered what would happen to him. I wondered how his life would end up. I wondered if he’d find a forever home where he was loved and treated like one of the family, or if he’d end up abandoned and alone. I hoped that if the latter were true, he’d end up here with Naomi. “Okay. I’ll be here on Monday. What time?”

“Four. I’ll introduce you to my other trainers. They can help you if you find you need help and I’m not around.”

How on earth had Callie Collins ended up with a gig as a dog trainer? I’d never even owned a dog. But as Naomi had said, the dogs and I could train and learn together.

“Looks like Cass is here,” she said, nodding at the road leading to the kennel as an SUV approached.

“Do you need help with the last pup?” I asked.

“I’ll feed him. The two of you can take a group of dogs out for a run around the property. A well-exercised dog is a happy dog, and happy dogs tend to find the best homes.”

Once Cass got out of the vehicle, we all chatted for a few minutes, and then Cass and I headed to the kennel to pick up the dogs we would walk. The entire fifty acres was fenced, and there was a trail circling the perimeter, so we walked within the fencing with a larger group then we’d be able to handle if we ventured off the property. It had continued to rain off and on, so the trail was muddy, but I’d worn old work boots I’d left at Gracie’s when I left the lake house, so I figured I’d be fine. Cass knew which dogs would walk politely off leash and which needed to be on a leash at all times, so he chose eight dogs from the first group, and we headed out.

“It looked like you’ve already been promoted to nursery duty,” Cass commented as we walked.

“Naomi just happened to be feeding the pups when I arrived to talk to her about volunteering, so I pitched in. She said she has a surrogate she hopes will nurse the pups coming by later this afternoon. I hope it works out.”