“Pretty good,” Sadie chirped.
We started talking more about the new commands she was hoping to introduce to Vixen. They were all pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take too long for the pup to learn.
“All right, great,” I finally said. “Let’s put this dog through her paces.” I was just finishing up with a round of conditioning work when I saw Harper walking toward us. But she wasn’t alone, I realized with a jolt.
I was surprised to see Ava walking alongside her mom. But I wasn’t panicked like I might have expected. Instead, it was actually a much more pleasant feeling. Like I was excited to see the girl. I smiled at the t
wo of them as they walked up. “Hey,” I said, not sure how to act around Harper. Was I allowed to kiss her? I settled for a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Harper, this is Sadie and her partner, Danielle. And Sadie’s service dog, Vixen.”
“Doggy!” Ava said, already trying to pet Vixen.
I smiled and knelt down next to her. “Ava, this isn’t a petting dog,” I told her. “See this vest that he’s wearing? That’s his work uniform. And we don’t pet the doggy in his work uniform.”
Ava pouted and looked up at her mom.
“You know what you can do, though?” I said. “Vixen is an excellent fetch dog. Why don’t you throw this ball for her?” I held out a bright orange ball, and Ava’s eyes lit up. Soon the two were playing happily.
“I hope you don’t mind,” I said to Sadie.
“Not at all,” she said, watching the little girl. “She’s cute.”
“Oh!” I said, suddenly realizing I hadn’t finished introductions. “By the way, this is Harper Dawson. She came over to Kuwait for a few months to write about the SEALs, and we reconnected when I moved here.” That was a safe enough way to phrase things, I thought. “And Ava is her daughter.”
“How old is she?” Sadie asked.
“Three,” Harper said, lifting the little girl up when Ava started pulling on the bottom of her shirt.
“Why’s that doggy working?” she asked her mom.
Harper glanced uneasily at Sadie’s metal leg like she didn’t know how to answer that question. I hid a smile. I could tell Ava was curious, just like her mom. Harper had better get used to questions like that.
Ava squirmed until she was put down, and then she came straight over to Sadie, looking curiously up at her. “Is he working ’cause you’ve got a funny leg?” she asked innocently.
Harper choked, her face flaming. “Ava!” she said.
Sadie was laughing, though. “Don’t worry,” she said, shaking her head. “I love kids; they’re so much more natural around disabilities than adults are. They say exactly what they’re thinking.” She leaned down toward Ava. “It’s because I’m part robot,” she told the girl conspiratorially. “And sometimes, Vixen needs to fetch things like my crutches.”
“Huh,” Ava said, not sounding too interested in it. She wandered over to a small patch of dandelions and started playing with them.
I grabbed the orange ball and put it back in my pocket. Then, I went back to figuring out more of the commands that Vixen had been taught. “I didn’t even realize he could do all of that,” Sadie said laughingly when I’d finished up a general routine. “He knows ‘jump’ and ‘jump higher’? Who taught him that?”
“Probably someone who was very bored,” Danielle joked.
We all sat around enjoying the afternoon, with Sadie and I alternating on who was giving Vixen commands. Finally, she stood up, giving me a hug. “We should head home. Danielle’s mom is in town, and she wants to take us to dinner.”
“Have fun,” I said, smiling at them. “It was good seeing you again.”
“Thanks for all your help,” Sadie said. “I’m going to be bothering you again soon, probably.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her, waving away her thanks. “I enjoy doing this stuff. Seriously.”
The two women and the service dog left, with Vixen following right at Sadie’s heel, ready to help as commanded. I was left alone with Harper and Ava.
I glanced over at them, my heart swelling as I watched Harper bend down to scoop up her daughter, tossing her up in the air and catching her easily, while Ava squealed. Eventually, she put the girl down and came back over to sit next to me. I put my arm around her shoulders, feeling utterly content.
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