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This present scenario could well have the same devastating effect.
Death was death.
“You’re fifty yards away. Straight line,” Bob said. “We’ll talk you forward.”
“Is he holding?” Halo’s lungs had tightened down, and he switched to combat breathing, count of four in, hold, count of four out.
“He’s doing as asked. We’ll let you know if anything changes.”
Which was a shite way to deal. Bob would have to perceive, speak, and then Halo would have to, sight unseen, respond with his commands.
“Good boy, Maxi. Freeze. Freeze.” Halo kept his tone as light as possible. He wondered if that were the correct command. If Halo gave the chomp command, instead, Max could possibly bite the snake in two.
Halo raced full tilt over the terrain. If he went into another bloody hole, it was a broken leg. Didn’t matter. He’d drag himself to Max’s side.
“Hold tight, Maxi. Good boy.” There had to be an antivenom. But surely the team didn’t have it with them, Halo calculated. They were an hour up the mountain. Venom usually worked on weight. Muscle mass might give Halo some advantage if he were bitten, but Malinois were medium-sized dogs. A bite might well prove lethal no matter how fast Halo darted back down the mountain to the Iniquus vans.
Powering up the hill, he could see Max in front of him.
Max widened his field of perception to take in Halo. “Max, freeze,” Halo called out, shoving the unit into his pocket to free his hands.
When Max caught Halo’s gaze, his tail wagged excitedly.
Now, Halo could hear the rattle of the snake’s tail. It sent another burst of blue-colored adrenaline through his veins.
That sound, the wriggling movement, Max must think this was a toy.
Now that he was closer, Halo moved forward crouched and steady, testing the ground in front of himself to make sure he could advance without falling and startling Max into letting go of the snake. The triangular shape of the head chomping at the air with sharp fangs dripping venom just outside of Max’s jaw was clearly life-threatening to Max. How could he get the snake safely from Max’s mouth?
“Good, boy, Maxi. Freeze.” Halo’s mind was madly calculating. “Freeze, Max.”
Killing the snake, Halo well knew, would not stop the mouth from biting or reduce the lethality of the venom. He had to separate dog from snake.
He couldn’t just grab the snake and tell Max to release. That release might not be fast enough, and the snake might turn and get a bite in. It would require split-second timing. But Halo had Max’s reward ball in his pocket. And nothing made Max move faster than getting his mouth on that ball.
Would it work here?
Halo slowly drew the ball from his pocket. And Max stomped the ground with excitement. “Max, freeze!”
Sweat slicked Halo’s skin. Heart racing, he bent and got his hand around the tail. The vibration of the rattle twitched just below his fist. Twisting his body until his arm was fully extended, Halo prayed that Max would do as commanded the instant the command left his mouth, and Max wasn’t going to pull one of his stubborn teenaged tantrums, unwilling to let go of his new-found wriggle toy.
Halo’s head was turned to focus unblinkingly on Max.
Here we go.
Halo tossed the ball into the air, calling, “Max, release.” And as the S hissed between his teeth, Max opened his mouth and jumped for the ball. In the same instant, Halo whipped the snake through the air.
The snake flew into the distance.
“Bob. Good job, Halo. I have Dani Williams here. She’s Team Charlie’s assigned vet. She’ll talk you through next steps.”
Halo looked behind him to make sure the ground was clear, then dropped his ass to the ground next to where Max was aggressively chewing on his ball.
In that moment, Halo realized his mistake. Sure, he got the instant release he needed to save Max’s life. But he’d used Max’s reward ball—his “high-dollar” reward—to do it. Halo had just rewarded Max for having a snake in his mouth, reinforcing the very thing that Halo did not want his dog to do. That meant Max would look for opportunities to grab up a snake—venomous or not. Halo made a mental note that he needed to undo that training, or Max would be at high risk.
“Dani for Halo. Careful. We don’t want to get Max’s heart rate up until you’ve checked him over. Call him into your lap and give him scritches and praise while I give you more information.”
Halo held out his arms. “Here, Maxi.”