My Sunshine by Catherine Anderson Page A

capillary refill is?”
    Laura nodded. She knew the meaning of many terms that she could no longer say.
    â€œEvery few minutes, pinch his tongue and press on his gums to check his refill for me. Try to use only one hand for that. Keep the other one sterile to pass me instruments. If you forget, change gloves.”
    Laura stared stupidly at the dog’s tongue. “His name is Humphrey,” Isaiah said, as if he sensed her reluctance. “When he wakes up, he’ll lick your hand to say hi. You do want him to wake up again, don’t you?”
    The question worked on her shocked system like a glass of ice water in the face. She gingerly pinched the dog’s lolling tongue and pressed a fingertip to his upper gum. Because she couldn’t say capillary to save her soul, she settled for, “His refill looks fine. The color comes back pretty fast.”
    â€œGood, good. His vitals are within normal range, but that can change in a blink when an animal has lost so much blood.”
    Laura’s heart caught. This was real, she thought dizzily. This dog’s life rested partly in her hands. Because it did, she reached deep for courage she hadn’t realized she possessed. A strange calm settled over her. She could do this. She would do this. She wanted Humphrey to wake up soon, wanted to feel the rasp of his tongue on her hand and see life in his now expressionless eyes.
    â€œTell me about him,” she said shakily. “Is he a new patient?”
    Isaiah’s gaze flicked to hers and held for only an instant, but in that instant his eyes warmed on hers. “I’ve been seeing him for about a year, off and on.”He asked her to sop up some of the blood with a piece of gauze so he could see what he was doing. While they worked, he went on to say, “Just office visits—shots, deworming, that kind of thing. We haven’t had a lot of getting-acquainted time, but judging by the little I’ve seen, he’s a great dog, smart and very friendly.”
    Beneath the mask, Laura smiled slightly. “He has a friendly look. What are his people like?”
    He cast her another twinkling glance. “You have it turned around, don’t you? The people own him.”
    Laura disagreed. “I don’t think it’s about who owns who. It’s about love. Does he have nice people?”
    Isaiah nodded. “A man, woman, and a cute little girl with big brown eyes and pigtails. I’ll leave you to guess who Humphrey loves the most.”
    â€œThe little girl,” Laura quickly replied. She could almost see the dog playing with the child, barking and running happily after a ball. She was suddenly very glad that Isaiah had asked her to assist him. If Humphrey lived, she would be able to say that she’d helped in some small way to save his life. “He looks like a dog that loves kids.”
    â€œRight on target. And as of this morning, he became quite the hero.” He winked at her, a habit she was coming to suspect he had cultivated because his hands were so often occupied and the lower part of his face was covered by a mask. “The little girl ran out in front of a car.”
    â€œOh, no. ” The last of Laura’s squeamishness vanished. “Is that how he got hurt?”
    Isaiah nodded. “The owner says Humphreyleaped into the street just in the nick of time and knocked the little girl out of the way. Unfortunately for Humphrey, the woman in the car says it happened so fast that there was no way she could stop. If it weren’t for Humphrey, she would have hit the child.”
    â€œOh, my God.”
    Though Laura couldn’t see Isaiah’s mouth, the creases that suddenly fanned out at the corners of his eyes told her he was smiling. “You ever saved a hero’s life?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œFirst time for everything. Humphrey deserves a medal.” He parted the animal’s flesh, revealing tendon, bone, and the