Who: Alec and Craig What: Match Up Run In When: Jan 3rd Where: Animal Shelter Rating: Low
Alec wasn’t the one who hit the dog, but he was the one who found it. Now maybe back home he’d ignore it. Maybe. But he made friends with Joshua back home and he had a thing for dogs even if he had more giant cat DNA in him than canine - or at least that was the theory. No one really knew all the things that went into their DNA cocktail. Whatever the case, it was Alec who was walking through the doors of the animal shelter.
The Bernese Mountain Dog was in his arms as he walked through the door. “Hey! Anyone around?” His voice sounded more concerned than he liked to admit he was capable of.
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Craig liked working at the shelter. He got to take care of a multitude of animals, and there was a boarding area for people to leave their pets during extended vacations. He even got to watch a guinea pig during the last few weeks while its owners were out of town. Yup, nice and calm.
That was until the guy walked in with a dog in his arms, obviously concerned.
Closest to the door, Craig set down the bag of cat food he had been separating out into a number of bowls on the counter, and walked over. "What happened? Everything alright?" Yeah, he might've been talking more to the dog than the guy, hazard of the job.
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“He was hit by a car. I think it’s a broken bone. Not sure if there’s any other stuff internally, but he’s not doing so hot.” He brought the dog in further, but held onto him still. He was stronger than he looked, so holding the dog wasn’t exactly an issue for him. “Can you take a look at him?” He paused, sizing up the kid. Was this kid even legal? “Can you take a look at him?” The only reason why Alec didn’t ask about potty training or diapers was he wanted this kid’s help.
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Shooting the guy a half an annoyed look, Craig focused on the dog as his gaze softened, looking into its eyes and carefully checking its ears for any blood. Luckily not finding any blood or enlarged pupils, he reached up and gave the dog's head a gentle pet before focusing on the guy again, back to business.
"We're not a veterinarian's office, but there's a girl here who's used to looking after wounded animals." Came the flat reply. "But she's not here today and I don't know how to set bones." It was a simple statement, the usual Craig Tucker matter-of-fact sort. "Either you could settle him down in one of the empty kennels and I'll call her, or you could take him to the vet and come back after getting him looked at. Up to you."
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“I know how to set a bone. Is it different for a dog?” Yes, he was suggesting he was going to do it right here with this guy’s help. Alec didn’t like the idea of just leaving the dog here and he didn’t like the idea of travelling more while the animal was in pain. If someone from home knew those were his thoughts, they would have thought he was possessed.
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Something akin to nervousness flashed briefly on Craig's face, surprised at the suggestion. "I think so..?" He looked from the dog's face to the man, frowning slightly. "I bet we could look it up." There were websites on that sort of thing, right?
Taking his phone out, he opened up an internet browser, typing in setting a broken leg bone on a dog, a video popping up. "Okay, so I think we can do this."
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“Good.” Because he wanted to do it and fix the dog. He hadn’t even hit it, but he felt responsible for it now and he totally blamed being in Madison Valley for this weird conscience now. Maybe it was Lorna. He’d have to re-evaluate what was making him too soft.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” He was a trained medic, after all.
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"Okay," well this was different. A customer wanting to follow directions instead of give them. Directing the other man towards the small room with a table that Primrose used on occasion for animals that needed check ups, Craig spread a few blankets out on the hard surface of the table so the dog would be comfortable.
Turning to the cabinets, he dug around in one of them for a few items. "Go ahead and set him down on the table," he said, holding out a large muzzle. "Put this on him. If we need to set anything, it's going to hurt and he might snap."
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Alec put the dog on the bed easily, his arms not even tired when he relieved himself of the burden. When Craig brought out a muzzle, though, Alec frowned. Maybe it was all those years being locked up that did it to him, but the idea of muzzling the dog didn’t sit well with him. Before he could check himself and just agree, he heard himself say “No, it’s fine. I’ll deal with it if he bites me. I’m tougher than I look.”
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"I'm getting that vibe from a lot of people here." Craig replied as he set the muzzle aside and busied himself getting a splint ready to put on the dog along with a few towels.
Petting the dog, hand stilling on its back in an attempt to reassure the poor animal, he glanced down at his phone, reading a handful of steps into the procedure before looking at the man. "His leg looks a lot like this picture," Craig said, pointing out a particular image on the website. "It says it might just be a dislocated shoulder." They could only hope, dislocations were obviously easier than an actual broken bone.
"Hold him steady.. Ready? On three."
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“Sounds like you’re new here.” Not that Alec dwelled too long on the idea as he focused on the task at hand. He was even more familiar with setting a dislocated shoulder so he was able to help easily. It turned out that was exactly what was wrong with the dog and once they were able to fix the leg, the dog looked like it was almost instantly feeling better.
Alec pet the dog. “Dislocation is a bitch, right?” He definitely knew what he was talking about. Alec looked over at the guy. “Hey, not bad kid.”
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Happy that the dog seemed to be doing much better, Craig's monotonous happiness was short-lived when the guy called him kid for a second time. "I'm not a kid," he began flatly. "No, I don't care if you're some sort of immortal superhuman who is a thousand years old.. Kids are either baby goats or people up to the age of eighteen."
It wasn't a complaint, the delivery was pure unfiltered Craig: flat and matter-of-fact.
Turning, he retrieved a bag of dog treats from a cabinet, opening it up and offering a couple to the dog, who accepted them happily.
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Alec didn’t seem overly phased. If anything, it was the flat voice rather than the admonishment that was unsettling. Mostly, Alec ignored the whole thing. He watched the guy feed the dog, thoughtful. “Now what?” He had no idea. A part of him told Alec to take the dog, but Alec told himself he wasn’t a pet person - he didn’t want anyone or anything relying on him. His eyes looked at the dog again.
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"Now's the part where you take him home with you." Craig saw it all the time. He knew the sort of look the guy was shooting at the dog, and obviously the dog was happy to have the guy around.
"You don't have to take him home today, pet ownership is a big deal. We could board him while you figure things out.. Or if you don't want him in your life, you can just leave him here for someone else to adopt one day. No judgement."
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Alec should have said no way to the dog, or at least that was what former Alec would have said. Fresh-out-of-Manticore Alec was all about himself. Thanks to Max and Joshua, though, and then even living here for some time, it was harder to be entirely self centered as much as he continued to try.
“I’ll take him.” The words were said maybe a little in haste. Did he have a collar or a leash or a food bowl or anything? No. He was going to get them all now, though. How was this his life now? He was definitely blaming Max. If she came here, she was going to have a talking to.
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Craig's mouth twitched in rare amusement (if he had been a groundhog, he would've seen his shadow and caused 6 more weeks of winter because of it) as the guy said he'd take the dog. Which was good, because Craig doubted that if he had said no and left the dog here, said dog would've been upset.
"Wise choice. Let me show you to the little shop area, it's not the most varied but it'll get you the basics until you can go to Walmart or wherever."