"Well, she's not bringing that flea-bitten mutt back into my house!"

Maddie glared at the agitated man who refused to tone his voice down as he reamed her for something she had no control over. Folding her arms, she clicked her pen under her arm in increments similar to counting.

"Mister Lewis, the dog was in worse shape than you were. I'm only doing my job." Her voice tried to be soothing as she pressed her glasses up on her nose. In truth, she was appalled that the man had the gall to come into her office and demand anything after what he had done. She stared at him as he frantically patted the bandage on his forearms and fingers.

Yep, the German Sheppard did a number on old Greg all right.

Good. I had to perform surgery on Comrade after you kicked him until he ruptured organs, you shithead.

She had seen such cruelty and stupidity in that man's eyes it took all the power she could conjure not to geld him on her surgery table where Comrade laid.

He waved several papers in his hand. "I want that psycho-mutt put down! He endangers me and my family!"

Not phased by his urgency, Maddie turned to look at his wife who leaned quietly in tears against the wall. Linda's tall, frail body faced the edge of the window. She was probably a beautiful woman when she wasn't in tears. Unfortunately, Maddie never had the pleasure of really seeing her when she wasn't crying with this man.

She wasn't an idiot, she knew Gregory Lewis wasn't the greatest to Linda—and it seemed the only one who had guts to stand up to the jerk was Comrade, the 80 pound German Sheppard who fought for his life in her back room. "Linda, did Comrade attack you or your daughter, Sandra?"

Linda looked up at Maddie, her eyes trailed with black tears from her makeup. She timidly shook her head. "N-no, Comrade wouldn't hurt us."

Gregory Lewis turned his head at Linda, who slightly recoiled at his gaze. "What the hell do you call this!?" He showed off his bandage stained with seeping blood. "She may be partial to the dog, but I don't care! I'm not paying to keep that damn dog alive!"

Linda pushed herself off the wall. "Greg you can't! I had Comrade since I was a teenager!"

"Well you can go on and stay with the dumb mutt if you want!"

Maddie threw her pen on the floor. "I've heard enough! Mr. Lewis seeing how this animal is not registered under your name, you do not have the right to command to have the dog put down!"

"Now just see here—"

"And granted I have a full report of the damage done to the animal, I will have you know I am obligated by the county to turn this report to the ASPCA."

Gregory's eyes widened at her threat then turned into a sneer. "You can't prove anything except that dog had attacked me and that was merely self-defense."

Maddie had no choice but to call his bluff. "Perhaps... perhaps not." She turned to her assistant, who rather auspiciously witnessed the whole ordeal. "Greta," she said with a cold, stern voice.

"Yes, Maddie?" Greta's voice was eager and attentive. She was barely used to her assistant, who seemed to come with the vet office in a package deal from the previous owner. Greta was quite precocious to the causes around her.

"Can you get those lab reports ready for sending by way of Sheriff McTiernan, please?"

Greta gave him a sinister smirk. "Most certainly, doc," She rose from her chair when Gregory put his hands up.

"Wait!", he sighed. "Fine, let the dog live, alright!" He turned to look at Linda who appeared to have relief in her eyes. "But he is not allowed at my home are we clear?"

Linda's eyes began to water again, "What?! No!"

Realizing that is where he could hurt her he smiled a sinister grin of his own. "I'm not joking, Linda. I won't have you put it down, but you cannot keep him with us. He's not welcome, you understand? Give him away to someone else who wouldn't mind having a rabid mutt to gnaw their hands off!"

Maddie frowned. If only Comrade was successful in doing that along with your tongue and your d-

Her evil thoughts were cut off as Linda started to bawl.

"That's not fair, Greg! He's a good dog! He's been with me forever!"

Maddie wanted to reach out to the tortured woman. Gregory knew exactly how to continue hurting Linda. And it worked.

He glared at Maddie. "Send me the bill for him, but consider him an abandoned pet."He snapped his look to his crying wife.  "Say goodbye to it and let's go, Linda. It's late and we need to pick up Sandra." With that he walked away, letting the bell ring him out.

Greta passed Linda her box of tissue and let her snatch several out to dry her red eyes. "I'm so sorry, Linda."

"What do I tell Sandra?" she asked, punctuating her question with a sniff. "She loves Comrade just as much as I do."

Maddie motioned to Linda to follow her to her operating room. "You should at least see him, Linda."

Linda nodded, her tissue close to her nose, sniffling. She preceded to follow her in.

Upon entering through the double doors, Linda saw Comrade laying on his side with tubes stuck in him. Part of his stomach's fur was shaved off and bit of him bandaged up. Still, Linda could see the steady rise and fall of her beloved dog's body. He was still alive.

Linda sighed. "Oh, Comrade." She looked to Maddie. "Is it okay if I touch him?"

Maddie smiled and nodded. "Of course. He's just heavily sedated post surgery. It was really close, Linda."

Linda softly rubbed Comrade between his ears. "Hi there, sweetie. How are you?" She rubbed her fingers against his ear. Scratching his head, she looked up at Maddie. "He likes his ears rubbed." Maddie walked over to her, as she looked at the bandages and started to sob. "I'm so sorry, Comrade. I'm sorry. You did nothing wrong, and this shouldn't have happened. Ever. I'm sorry." Linda backed away to the wall and wiped her eyes.

Maddie ached for the woman. Linda was a sweet person, who was one of the first people to welcome her to Augusta, Maine. She and her daughter came to the dusty office to deliver cookies and dog biscuits to the town's new veterinarian. It was the first time she saw their big, friendly dog Comrade, who went everywhere with them. She had hoped that bringing Linda back here to see the family member who fought so courageously for her, would help Linda get the strength she needed to return the favor.

Linda dried her tears and looked at Maddie. "Do I need to sign anything to let him go?"

Maddie shook her head. Her heart sank in disappointment, but refused to show it to Linda, who had enough demons at her feet. "I'll take care of Comrade, Linda. He'll go to a loving home. I promise."

Linda gave a quick nod. "Thank you so much for saving his life, Maddie. I'm in your debt, honestly."

You can repay me by standing up for him. She shook the thought away. It wasn't fair to Linda to feel that way, she had no right to pass judgment on her. She knew how much Linda loved the dog. But to her, it just wasn't enough. Yet, she just shrugged. "The surgery bill is all that's owed, and I'll handle Comrade's well-being personally and pro bono."

"I appreciate that Maddie." Linda gave a small smile and rubbed Comrade one last time. Her voice was shaky, holding back her sadness. "Goodbye, friend...and thank you." She kissed his muzzle and walked out as Greg's horn blowing came to the forefront of sounds. "I better go."

Maddie didn't see her out. Instead she stayed with Comrade and checked his vitals. He was a strong dog and with some loving care will be back to his old self in a month or two. "I'm sorry too Comrade." She said quietly. "You deserve so much better than what you've been given for your help."

A banged up body from a maniac owner and abandonment from the family you protected.

Greta peeped in on her as she circled around the table. "You okay in here?"

Maddie gave her a timid smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just checking up on him before I leave tonight. I'm coming in a little late tomorrow morning."

"Oh yeah? Gotta hot date, Doc?"

Maddie looked up to see Greta grinning in anticipation. "Ha, I wish."

Greta blew a raspberry. "Booo."

Ever since they started working, Greta was absolutely obsessed with her love life. Or in this case, lack thereof. She often made jokes of hoping to find a note from her boss claiming to have met a dashing male, endowed with greatness unlike any other to whisk her away from Augusta. Maddie often shook her head and would reply that she "just got to Augusta and wasn't done paying the mortgage on the business yet."

Greta leaned against the counter and looked at Comrade, sighing. "Poor guy. This was an intense call. You did a helluva job with him."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming to help me so late." She smiled at Greta, who was as free flowing as a river. She either rarely got upset or was just way better than Maddie in hiding it. When the Lewis's called frantically about the animal, she knew she'd need some help with the surgery. She paged Greta, whom surprisingly rushed over without a single complaint.

"Eh, no worries. Cassie is with her grandma tonight, so all is well." She walked over to pat Comrade on the head. "What are you gonna do about him? Want me to call the humane society in the morning?"

Maddie scratched his head. Time and time again she saw the downside of taking a chance and helping others, this animal being her latest example. Her grandmother was right. Animals will always appreciate your kindness; people, not so much. "No," she said looking up at Greta. "We have to hold him for five days anyway. Abandonment period."

"He's a great, well-trained dog, I'm sure someone would take him and love him."

Maddie sighed and adjusted the temperature in the room. Someone definitely will. Even if that someone would be her.

"Great job handling Greg, by the way." Greta adjusted the clipboard on the rack next to her. "He's a bully."

"He's a big asshole is what he is. I'm still considering reporting him despite his agreement to 'allow' Comrade to live. Could you believe that? " Maddie frowned recalling the way Greg treated everyone around him. Part of her saw nothing but a deranged bully, and another saw something scary and unstable about him. Her fear always manifested into anger and at the time of trying to save Comrade's life, she wanted a bat and 5 minutes alone with the man that did it.

"I don't blame you, Maddie. You're right, he's an asshole. But more attention to him will just make things worse for poor Linda."

Maddie nodded solemnly. She'll take her word for it. Still new to the environment, it was best for her not to mettle too much until she got used to everything. Including the locals.

Greta waved to her. "I'm going back home. Call me if you need anything."

Maddie tried her best to give Greta a reassuring smile. The look on Greta's face told her she failed miserably. "Thanks." And she was thankful to her assistant. Greta was bright and silly, but has helped her tremendously in and out of the office. The emotional roller coaster made her sigh with exasperation. She barely been in this town for a month and already she was bombarded with the people of this town and their dramatic issues. Though she was lucky to take up the practice in such a beautiful town, part of her was worried about the people here. Many of the men seemed voracious and crude. She didn't want to go back to her old "sweetheart" days where she made excuses for everyone and wanted to save the world; but then again she didn't want to be a man-basher. Not all of them were controlling like Gregory Lewis, hopefully. She had been so busy lately moving in and setting up the vet practice, that it took her a while to notice that no one hung out much after dark. It totally sucked because she'd always been a night owl since she could remember. It was definitely going to be a new lifestyle change that she promised herself she'd make the best of.

The place isn't all that bad. It's a new start and with every new start things are a little shaky.

Her grandmother assured her that this move would be very good for her. Adventurous and eventful, she said.

Hmph. Though everyone was weirded out by her grandmother's cryptic talk, she was fascinated by it as a youth. Now, for some reason she hoped her Nana was right and that she didn't die of boredom in this strange town.

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