“That can’t be true.”
“I catch this animal outside of the apartment, I’m impounding it. It’s an illegal breed.”
“Impounding?”
“You got to pay a fine, and then we chip her and if we ever catch her again, we destroy her.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“That’s the law. I’m just doing my job.”
“The way you did your job certifying there were no cats across the street? Is Gunter paying you to harass us? We’ve done nothing wrong!” Lucas declared hotly. I stirred uneasily.
“That’s where you’re incorrect. You are harboring a banned breed. Pit bulls are fierce, dangerous animals.”
“Does Bella look fierce and dangerous to you?”
“Doesn’t matter. She could be as gentle as a baby lamb, if the law says she’s a vicious animal, she’s a vicious animal. See you, pal. See you soon.”
*
The next afternoon, when Lucas came home from Go to Work, Olivia was with him. We went for a car ride! I thrust my nose as far into the wind as I could manage and drank in the amazing mixture of scents coming at me so fast.
Soon we were in a building very similar to the one where Lucas did Go to Work to visit Olivia. We stood in a small room with some strangers in it whom I wanted to visit but was held back by my leash, a room that hummed and made my stomach lurch. This one was much quieter than the one I’d stood in with Ty and Lucas, and every time the room opened, the smells were completely different on the other side, and people would get out, perhaps upset they hadn’t been allowed to play with me. I didn’t understand what we were doing in the small room but I was happy to be there and happy to get out.
We walked down a quiet hallway to a place with a table and where the floor was soft with carpet. A man came in holding papers.
“I’m Mike Powell,” the man greeted. I wagged.
“Thank you for seeing us. I’m Lucas Ray, and this is my…” He gestured to Olivia.
“Careful,” she warned.
“My friend Olivia Phillips.”
“I am his driver.” Olivia held the man’s hand briefly before deciding she didn’t like doing it and letting go. “He treats me inappropriately.”
The man laughed and then bent down to see me. I licked his face. “This must be Bella. What a sweetie.”
They talked and talked while I searched for the softest place in the room. By a narrow table there was a rug on top of the carpet, but it wasn’t quite large enough to get my whole body on it. I lay down, grunting.
I dozed off, but opened my eyes sleepily when I heard the man say my name.
“Bella’s up against the government. I’m afraid the law in Denver is irrational on this subject. Did you know there’s not even such a thing as a specific AKC breed called a pit bull? It’s a whole class of dogs, like ‘retriever.’ Anyway, a couple of years ago a child was killed by what was called a pit bull in the press, so the city council passed the ban. There was lots of testimony that none of these dogs are any more dangerous than any other dogs—in fact, I think that dachshunds bite people more often than any other breed. Pits are very protective of their owners, maybe that’s how this all got started. And did you know that since the ban, pit bulls are more popular than ever in Denver? Got to love Americans. Tell them they can’t have something and they immediately want it so they can stick it to the man.
“Anyway, the problem isn’t that Bella is a pit bull, the problem is that animal control says she is. On one officer’s word alone, she can be picked up. If two more officers agree Bella is a pit, the law says she is a pit. Crazy system, but there it is.”
“But what about the doctor’s letter? It’s not BS, Bella really does give my mom emotional support,” Lucas said.
“I’m afraid the law is pretty harsh on this. Throwing down a dog treat may seem like a crude test, but it’s one of several they can apply—and if she flunks one, that’s it. There’s no appeal.”
“None? Really?” Olivia asked.
“Not in the animal shelter system. We could go to court, of course, but that would be very expensive,” the man replied. “And while we worked through it, Bella would have to stay in the shelter. That could take months.”
“Then what can we do?” Lucas asked desperately. “The guy says if he catches me outside with Bella he’ll take her away.”
The man spread his hands. “Honestly? The way the laws are written in Denver? Nothing. There’s nothing you can do.”
Olivia stirred. For the first time since I had met her, I felt a rising anger in her. “Animal control can come onto Lucas and Terri’s property?”
“No. I didn’t say that. They’d need a court order for that.”
“What about the front porch?”
“Same thing. Or a driveway or a garage. If it is part of your lease, she’ll be okay.”
Lucas bent down to talk to me and I wagged. “That’s it, then, Bella. The bad man comes, you have to Go Home and stay in your spot. Okay? If we do that, we’ll be safe.”
I tensed, not understanding. Go Home?
“I’m really worried, Lucas,” Olivia murmured.
“Yeah. Me, too.”
Nine
A few days later Lucas did Go to Work so he could come home smelling like Olivia, but he did not take me. I could feel him out there somewhere, though—I carried his presence with me like a scent. He was my person and we belonged together. Nothing could change that. It was as much a part of me as being a dog.
Mom snapped the leash onto my collar because we were doing Go for a Walk! I danced impatiently as she put on a coat, then took it off with a laugh. “Getting to be too warm for a jacket, Bella,” she told me. I sat at the door, being as good as a dog can be, and finally we went outside. As we passed the den I smelled the cats in there but not Mother Cat.
I was excited to think we might be doing Go to Work ourselves, and that I would soon see Ty and Steve and all my other friends and Olivia and, of course, Lucas, but Mom turned in a different direction. I smelled many wonderful things as we went up a street we had never walked before—animals alive and dead, and delicious foods in plastic bins that sat lined up at the end of people’s driveways. Flowers painted the air with their pollens. A dog barked at me from behind a fence, so I squatted in the green grass in front of him and politely left him notice that I had been here.
Mom rarely took long walks but today she was happy and we kept going, exploring new places. As we did so the truck with all the animal smells passed us—the odors were so intense I wanted to run up to it and sniff. When it stopped I was happy, because of the fragrances it emitted, but Mom slowed up and I sensed her unease.