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W hen Tiffany pulled up to Timber’s place the next morning, feeling a little bit better but still tired, with six dogs in tow, she got up to the house to find Toby standing there, shaking his head.

He heard the dogs yipping in the back of her truck and teased, “Just a few, huh ?”

“Well,… yeah, just a few.” She scrunched up her nose.

“If nothing else it will be good for the men’s morale,” she noted.

“I don’t expect to get all these adopted but thought it would be nice to at least give these dogs a chance to get out of their pens and the small runs and to get some real exercise and socialization. ”

“You’re right about that.” Toby walked over and took a look. “Oh my.” And there, right in front of him,… was a basset hound.

She laughed. “His name is Toby too.”

He looked over at her and shook his head. “I’ve always had bassets.”

“Toby,… meet Toby,” she announced.

Little Toby, who was still lying down in his crate, looked over at Big Toby, and an immediate interaction began between them. Tiffany watched it happen. She started to smile. “ Uh-oh , you do know that this is a case of love at first sight, don’t you?”

But Big Toby wasn’t even listening to her, as he was already opening the crate and helping Little Toby out.

“He’s young,” she shared.

“How young?”

“Probably two and a half.”

“How did he come to be in your care?”

She frowned. “We’re probably better off not to go into too many discussions about that.” When he turned to her with a glare on his face, she nodded. “Sometimes it’s better to just start them fresh with a clean history.”

“That bad, huh ?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “that bad, but I’ve had him for a couple months now, and he’s doing a lot better. He has learned to trust a little, as you can see. Still, he’s certainly got a way to go.”

“Of course,” Toby replied. “The minute there’s been any kind of betrayal at that level…”

“Particularly by the owner,” she interjected, “so trust has to be earned again.”

But it didn’t look like it would take much trust because Toby, the dog, had already gotten out of his crate. Instead of jumping to the ground, he put his paws up on Toby, the human, and started licking his face.

At that, Toby just picked him up and hung on to him, taking him a few steps away to have a little private time with the dog.

She watched them bonding faster than she’d ever witnessed before. When she turned back around, Timber stood there, his hands on his hips, staring at Toby with the dog.

“Wow,” Timber muttered.

“Yeah, wow is right,” she murmured. “It’s also kind of funny because the dog’s name is Toby too.”

He grinned. “Looks to be a match made in heaven.”

“I would think so.”

With Timber’s help, she unloaded the five other dogs, then asked, “Have you had any trouble at all this week? No extra visitors?”

“Max made his presence known,” he admitted. “Yes, everybody is aware of what the potential issues could be, but I suspect, with this many people around, Max won’t cause any major trouble—at least until they’re gone.”

She nodded. “That would make sense to me.” He looked back over at what she already thought of as the clinic building. He smiled and pointed. “You want to take a look at the most recent progress?”

“Yeah, I sure do,” she stated.

As she walked over, she passed George the electrician. He was muttering to himself, as he unwound what appeared to be miles of electrical wire. She asked, “Do you need a hand?”

“Yes,” he snapped, “it’s definitely not a one-person job.”

“I’m a good helper, if you want one.”

“Of course I want one,” he grumbled, now frowning over at her, just in time to spot the pug she carried in her arms. He cried out, “That’s dirty pool, Doc, and definitely not allowed.

” But George was already up off the ground and reaching for the pug in her arms. She just laughed as she held out the baby.

“I wasn’t sure if I should bring him or not because I figured you would say I set you up. ”

“You did set me up,” he declared, but his hands were eagerly cuddling the dog in his arms.

“It’s a girl,” she noted. “We call her Sheila. She’s fixed, and she’s young, we figure six, maybe seven months. I’ve had her for about six weeks,” she explained.

“And how did you come to get her?”

“Let’s just say the owners couldn’t keep her in a quality way,” she replied. When he frowned and faced her, she nodded. “Yeah, since no rescue or shelter is here yet, I tend to wind up collecting a few at my clinic.”

“Right,” George muttered. “This little girl, Sheila, is absolutely perfect.” Laughing, he grinned and pulled out his phone and started taking selfies of him with Sheila, as he danced around with her.

Behind her, Timber laughed. “What is it about animals that turn otherwise rough-and-tumble grown men into this ?” he asked, grinning at the electrician.

“It’s called love,” she declared. “That’s all, just love.”

He smiled and nodded. “That’s a heck of a good answer because I feel as if you have completely halted the work for the day.”

“Oh no, we can’t have that.” As she turned around, George pulled a jacket out from somewhere and put it around Sheila, placing her into a little designated cuddle corner.

“Now, you just stay right there and have a nap,” he ordered the little dog.

“We’ll finish this up, look at this clip, and then we’ll take you for a little wee somewhere.

Then we’ll come back and get after the other part of this job.

” George just kept up a continuous ramble, joy and love in his tone, while Timber and Tiffany looked on.

She turned to Timber. “So, is it a good thing I came?”

“It seems to be a great thing that you came,” he noted, staring at the electrician. “I wouldn’t have seen this one coming at all.”

“I know,” she murmured. “That’s two now. Toby and Sheila have found good homes,” she stated, with a smile. “I hope the decision is to keep them longer term than just today.”

At that, the electrician turned, shot her a hard look, and declared, “Oh no, this one is mine. You can go now. If you’ve got other dogs to deliver, that’s fine, but nobody gets anything to do with this little one but me.

” He reached down and chucked his finger under her chin, and her tail started wagging like mad.

Timber sighed happily. “You’re right, Tiffany. That appears to be two adopted.”

“At least two,” she added, laughing. “Nobody even knows about the other ones yet.”

But, as soon as people found out dogs were here, looking for forever homes, some of the men came from all corners of Timber’s property to see the new arrivals. Nobody else went as crazy as the first two men had, but Tiffany still saw lots of interest in the others.

Joe came closer and asked her, “Are they available for adopting?”

She nodded. “They certainly are. They are animals that I have at the clinic, or that I take home to help socialize and to get out of the pens while they heal from surgery, or whatever trauma they had been through,” she shared.

“So, these are ready for adoption, but I also figured some socializing would do them some good.”

“And if you can adopt them out?” he asked, with a wry look in her direction.

“And if I can adopt them out, it’s good for everybody,” she replied, as she pointed out Toby, who was still cuddling his dog.

Joe shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want an animal at all, but I’m just not set up for it.”

“That’s fine,” she said, giving him a smile. “It doesn’t matter in the least, but, while you’re here, and you want a dose of puppy love, soak it up because there really is nothing quite like it for both the human and the canine.”

He eyed her and nodded. “I’ve always been kind of a cat person myself.”

She laughed. “I’ve got a bunch of those too. I just didn’t think I should bring everybody today.”

“You’ve got cats?” At her nod, Joe hesitated. Then asked, “You got any of those huge Maine coon things?”

She laughed. “I’ve got something the size of a Maine coon, but his true heritage is up to his daddy’s mysterious origins,” she added. “Very typical of all cats, of course.”

“Yes, of course,” he muttered. “It’s not gray, is it?”

She smirked. “You’ve got a preference for grays?”

“I had one growing up,” he shared. “I kept talking about, you know,… one day,… but somehow one day never happened.”

“No, one day doesn’t happen on its own,” she stated.

“You have to make it happen.” And, with that, she pulled out a picture of the baby kitten she had at home.

“He’s just under six months, as far as I can tell, and, in case you can’t gauge the size of him alone in this photo, let me show you another.

” She pulled out another picture of two cats together, one a standard-size full-grown cat and the other a kitten.

She laughed when she saw it again. “The cat beside him is fully grown, and he’s only six months old and already towers over her. ”

Joe grinned. “Yeah, that looks very familiar.” And there was a little break in his voice.

“If you’re interested in him, or you’re interested in seeing him,” she added, “I’m just in town. I can also bring him with me next time, but a cat out here might be a whole different story.” She looked around at the dogs that were now being thoroughly adored by everybody coming by.

Joe nodded. “I’ll think about it.” Then he turned and quickly escaped.

She laughed to herself at that.

Timber came over to her and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Joe’s a cat person, so I showed him a picture of a Maine coon mixed kitten that I’ve got back at the office,” she shared, with a smile. “I think he’s more than a little smitten.”

Timber’s lips twitched, and he nodded. “And I can see how that might be a problem.”

“It might be a problem for him, but it’s not something I would pressure anybody into because, if you’re not ready for an animal, it is just not the right time,” she noted.

At that, George, the electrician, waved her over and called out, “Hey you, we’ve got some discussions that need to happen.”

“You know I can’t make all these decisions,” she replied. “Some of this stuff needs to wait.”

“No time to wait. I’m here now,” George stated. “I can put in a rough sketch for use here, and we can fine-tune it later,” he suggested, “but some of this stuff needs to be done now, if we can.”

She sighed. “Okay, fine, I hear you. I just don’t think you’re listening to me.”

“I’m not,” he admitted, as he cuddled little Sheila in his arms.

Tiffany snorted. “How will you work with this little gal in your arms?”

“But I won’t be holding her,” George added. “That’s why I need you. You hold her.”

“Sheila can walk, you know?”

“Doesn’t matter. This gal needs some love and attention. You brought her, so that means you’re it.” He quickly passed Sheila into Tiffany’s arms and proceeded to get to work, but every now and then he would stop to confirm Sheila was doing okay, then smile and keep on going.

Tiffany sighed. “You’re really addicted to this puppy, aren’t you?”

“I showed the wife, and she’s wondering if you have a second one.”

“A second what?”

“A second puppy so Sheila won’t be lonely.”

Tiffany smirked. “I did bring a few others over.”

“I know, and I haven’t gotten over there to take a look, so the wife’s a little mad at me right now.”

“She doesn’t need to be mad. I do have other animals back at the center, as well.”

“Yeah, what kind?”

She shrugged. “You know, the four-legged kind.”

He rolled his eyes at that. “We might need to get a puppy for Sheila because we don’t want Sheila to be lonely.”

“No, of course not,” Tiffany deadpanned, her lips twitching. “We can’t have that.”

He looked at her in outrage. “You don’t get to laugh at me. Our pets are family.”

“And that’s how they should be,” she declared. “They absolutely should be family.” And then she went off on a discussion as to what animals she had available, and that was just the start of her day.

Soon she was fielding questions on electricity for a treatment center, questions from several of the men on the six dogs that she brought with her this time—well, make that four since two were claimed immediately. By the end of the day, the other four had been claimed as well.

George, the electrician, was adamant that she bring a couple more on Saturday.

Otherwise he would swing by the clinic early on Sunday, before he headed home to the family—only if somebody was at the clinic on Sundays.

Tiffany agreed to show him a few pictures, so he could see the animals she had.

They then made arrangements for the weekend, then got back to work on Timber’s clinic, going through a list of things this building needed in terms of the wiring.