Puppy Therapy [Idalia]

[Russell Sands]

[Takes place a few days after With Wagging Tails]

“Oh you little…” Russell bent down and grabbed the scruff of the pup as it tried to barrel past his legs, holding it still for a second while he reached down to scoop it up properly. The large bitch wriggled and grunted in complaint, wanting to stay out and play, but she began to settle down again as Russell petted her. Of all the pups she was by far the most headstrong and wayward, always demanding attention and wanting to be wherever she shouldn’t be, and Russell figured that poor Mitten would appreciate the short break away from them. The poor mother hadn’t had a proper rest since giving birth, and the pups were all big enough now that they’d be absolutely fine for a few hours without her while she relaxed and got some sleep.

Since the pups had been born Russell hadn’t had a moments peace to himself. If he wasn’t working he was tending to the ever-demanding litter, and exhaustion was starting to catch up with him. He knew he still had to take some time for himself, but it was difficult when there was always a hundred and one things that needed doing that held far greater priority than having a bit of a sit-down. Idalia coming to visit could not be better timed, partly because he was very much looking forward to seeing her again anyway and partly because it would give him a chance to actually relax and enjoy himself for a little while.

Russell placed the bitch on the far side of the now-closed baby gate that was keeping all the pups corralled in the lounge, meaning that Idalia and Ike would be able to get into the house without being trampled by a stampeding wave of pups battling to get out the front door. The adult females were playing in the back yard, and the males were upstairs in one of the spare rooms. Russell trusted his dogs with his life (literally), but he wanted to be sure that there was no risk of an accident happening if the pack got defensive towards a strange dog on their territory and near their puppies. Once the dogs had all been steered to where they were supposed to be, it was just a matter of waiting for Idalia to arrive.

No sooner had Russell perched himself down on the couch, then the doorbell rang. It was met by a chorus of alarm from the puppies, and Russell was ever-grateful that he had no immediate neighbours to complain about the noise. Standing again, he made his way to the door and all thoughts of weariness disappeared when he opened it and saw Idalia. It still felt like such a privilege every time he got to see her. “Hey! Glad you could make it. Come in, come in. How've you been? Good, I hope.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

It was finally Sunday! Idalia woke up excited and immediately bounded to her closet. Oh god! What should she wear. As much as she wanted to impress Russell, she doubted her nice clothing would be well appreciated covered in dog hair. Ike seemed to feed off of her excitement and bounded about. She was glad that the dog seemed to have adapted to her work schedule, he didn’t seem at all put off by the strange hours and especially since she had been working with him more and she had been able to bring him into work. That had had a stunning effect. Ike’s moods seemed brighter and he didn’t act out as much. When it finally dawned on Ida that that was what the problem was she had hugged the clueless dog so tight he had started to whine in distress then proceeded to lick her face.

She hoped that these little puppies wore Ike out. She showered quickly and decided to wear jeans with a white tank top and a flannel shirt she left unbuttoned. Her makeup was significantly less caked on than when she had first gotten lunch with him. But today she didn’t have to be under a camera’s light and so she only added a little eyeliner and mascara and left only a little foundation over her face. She pulled her hair back away from her face and wrapped it up into a wavy bun. A few strands of hair fell lose from the bun and framed her face. She tried tucking them back but to no avail. She didn’t feel like pinning her thick hair into submission so she turned to her dog and asked, “So how do I look?” He barked in reply. “Yeah,” she agreed fussing with her hair a moment later before throwing up her hands. “But does it look date worthy? Not too desperate?” Ike wagged his tail and bound around her excitedly.

“Ugh, I don’t want to go looking like I just rolled out of bed. Hmmm…” She tapped her lips and went to her small vanity. It was really just a small desk she’d gotten from her mother that she’d propped up an old three fold mirror she had found at a garage sale. She dug through her jewelry box and pulled out a large geode necklace and added a pair of matching drop earrings to complete the look. She smiled at herself in the mirror. Now she looked ready for the world. “There. Better?” She inquired to her canine who replied by jumping on the bed with a toy and making ‘play with me eyes’ at her. She laughed and obliged for a moment. She checked the time and tried to cool her excitement. “Do you wanna go for a ride?” She asked. Almost immediately Ike dropped the toy and leapt from the bed. She was impressed, he made it all the way out the bedroom door before he landed. Laughing, she called him to calm and leashed him.

She wasn’t sure if she should bring anything but she had had a bout of baking motivation last night so she snagged a plate of cookies to take with her. She put Ike in the back seat of her car and set the cookies on the seat next to her. She turned Ike away from them with the open window. She had to combat her puppy more than once to save the cookies. She looked at the address once more when she was sitting in the driveway and she tried to calm her nerves. “Alright, now there are puppies in there,” she lectured Ike as she got out. “Be nice.” She said holding his face for a moment before letting him hop out of the car. She was so nervous she smoothed her hair and was halfway to the door before she realized she left the cookies in the car and had to go back to retrieve them. She held Ike tightly and rang the doorbell with her elbow. She waited nervously, secretly convincing herself she was mistaken and this was the wrong house. Her smile blossomed when she saw Russell.

Stepping inside she couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you. Great! How about you?” She offered the plate. “These are for you, I thought you could use a little something to keep your sanity.” She wished she could say she made them from scratch but these had come from premixed add water bag. She couldn’t stop smiling and she couldn’t stop looking around. The howling of puppies hadn’t stopped when she got in and Ike was stiff and sniffing the air beside her. He whined a moment then added his own booming bark. It wasn’t aggressive, merely curious.

[Russell Sands]

It was difficult to believe that the pups were a month old already. Time had gone so very quickly; it seemed like only a couple of days ago that he had been fighting to save the life of the little runt that had been struggling breathing when it had been born. Now they were all bounding around the house like they owned it, and it would only be a few more weeks until they were ready to go off to their new homes. That was always the hardest part. No matter how professional Russell always tried to be about the whole thing, it was very difficult to not get attached and want to keep them all.

Russell had started out the day looking somewhat presentable in dark jeans and a light blue button-down, but a morning of wrestling with dogs both large and small had reduced the effect to some extent. The jeans were speckled with fur and there was a spot of puppy drool on the bottom of the shirt, and Russell was frustrated he hadn’t had time to change before Idalia’s arrival. While he knew that she would probably understand that having a house full of dogs came with its side effects, it would have been nice to have been able to look at least partially decent when she arrived. Curse his standards.

Even if Russell hadn't have heard the doorbell ring, the chorus of barks and yaps would have made him incredibly aware that Idalia had arrived. The males upstairs ceased their barking quickly but the pups kept up their alarm. While it was good that they already had that warning instinct, Russell couldn't wait for them to learn to cease it once there was no obvious imminent danger. Russell couldn't help but grin when he saw Idalia, and that she had brought Ike with her too. “Yeah, I'm doing really well, thanks. Rushed off my feet as always; I've been really looking forward to this, though. I think we could both use a quieter afternoon.” When the plate was offered, Russell took it with a bright smile. “Oh, that's awesome, thank you! They smell amazing. I promise I'll try to stop the dogs stealing them all.”

Stepping back inside, Russell went into the entrance hall and placed the plate on a high shelf for now, out of the way of greedy canine mouths. Ike's bark was met by louder calls from the puppies, joined by a loud warning bark and a thud from upstairs. “That was probably just Stat jumping down off the couch they have in there. I swear his dad was half rhino.” Russell gave a soft roll of his eyes at that and opened the door wide for Idalia and Ike to come in. “Would you like a drink or anything first, or do you just want to go straight to the puppies?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Ida was nervous, not just about Russell, but about Ike. He tended to do well around other dogs, but he might accidentally hurt them due to his size. Granted, these puppies were the product of two very sturdy and strong dogs, but puppies were puppies. Idalia smiled as Russell appeared in the doorway. She stifled a laugh, he looked like he had been run over by the herd of puppies. The sound of so many dogs made her ears ring and she couldn’t even imagine housing that many canines. Ike was enough for her. He knew how to play big and scary and keep people away. Just because he would sooner lick people to death didn’t mean she had to tell people that. Russell had had a point, Ike was huge and that alone was enough to keep people from bothering her. He’d even chased off the odd salesmen.

She smiled at Russell and held out the plate. “Working too hard?” She teased accusingly. As if she wasn’t leaving here to go to work tonight. “Oh me too,” Idalia answered, almost too quickly, as she handed over the plate. “I mean it’s always something. But look,” she dug out her phone now that she had a hand free. She quickly pulled up her radar app, because it was Idalia and she was a nerd. She showed him a mix of blue and green dots that looked very random. “Clear skies, no crisis today!” She hadn’t even seen anything in her visions. Repocketing her phone she blushed, pretty sure Russell probably didn’t care. Right, because he was a normal person and for normal people weather wasn’t a topic of heated conversation. She smiled and shook her blunder off, “You’re very welcome.”

Idalia glanced at the ceiling. She mouthed a ‘wow’ before turning to Russell as he explained. She giggled, feeling like a school girl, but before she could reply Ike whined. She smoothed her hand over his ears as he looked up his head cocked. “It’s okay, bubba,” she said and Ike hesitated for a moment before sniffing and trotting in like he owned the place. There were so many new things, so many new smells. And as if he had forgotten Russell was there at all he suddenly lurched forward, hauling Ida gracelessly into Russell’s house and her dog head-butted Russell’s hand and bouncing to say ‘hi’. Ike had gotten big and it took very little effort for him to plant his paws on Russell’s shoulders and give him a big wet kiss. “Ike!” Idalia cried, mortified as she swatted her hound’s shoulder and pulled him off. “How many times do I have to tell you! We do not jump on people!” Ike wagged his tail loudly against anything too close, looking unapologetic.

“I’m alright,” Ida said, “Thank you. I think I’m just going to lay in a pile of puppies.” She gave a sly grin and spread her arms, letting her head fall back as if in bliss. Laughing at herself she dropped her arms and let a hand rest on Ike’s head. “Do you want me to keep Ike back?” Ike had turned his attention back to the interior of the house and Ida knew he was just as excited as she was to see the puppies. “How old are they now? They looked so cute in those pictures you sent me. Definitely brightened my day.” She gave him a dazzling smile. Looking at puppy pictures while procrastinating from work was the best thing she’d done in a long time.

[Russell Sands]

Russell was admittedly little apprehensive about Ike meeting the puppies but he wasn’t letting himself be too worried. Even though they were still young they were hardly Chihuahua’s, and they had all survived through romping with the older dogs in the house. He was confident that as long as they kept a close monitor of the situation and didn’t let the play get too excitable and out of hand there was no reason for today to be anything other than fun for all involved. Besides, it would be good for the puppies to get more familiar with being around strange people and dogs ready for when they went off to their new homes.

The smell of the freshly baked cookies was truly amazing, and he smiled gratefully as he nodded his head. “Oh, always. Between the office and these terrors I’m surprised I find the time to have dinner most evenings.” For as much as Russell complained about his schedule, he didn’t really hate it. He didn’t cope well when he was deprived of things to be doing and had always been the sort to function best under pressure. That didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the odd quiet day occasionally, though he couldn’t remember when the last one of them had been. Russell looked at her phone screen when she showed it to him, though he of course didn’t have the faintest clue what he was actually looking at. At her explanation, though, he smiled. “Good! Hopefully no violent storms will sneak up on us and ruin the afternoon, then.”

It was interesting watching Ike reacting to all the new stimuli, eventually calming down and relaxing a bit. Russell saw Ike preparing to spring up, and thankfully years of working with huge dogs allowed Russell to brace himself for the weight of the massive Dane. He quickly slid one foot back to stabilise himself so Ike didn’t topple him over backwards, though Russell was not exactly tall nor powerfully built and he was thankful when Idalia was able to get Ike under control again. Once all four paws were back on the ground, Russell gave Ike a rub on the neck. “No harm done; he’s just a bit excited.”

Russell gave a soft chuckle and nodded his head. “Puppies it is!” At her question he pondered for a moment, trying to work out what might be best. “Hmmm… Yeah, probably, for the minute. It might be easier if they meet you first, then him. This room can be gated off so he can have a wander in here, then once you’ve met the puppies we can let them in here too.” Russell went over to the doorway that opened onto the hall, with the kitchen across on the other side. It took him a few seconds to check and fasten the baby gate. He knew that any of the adult dogs, Ike included, could get through or over them fairly easily if they really wanted, but nine times out of ten the psychological effect of the barrier was enough. “They’re just over a month old. It’s gone so quickly; hard to think that in a few weeks they’ll be off to their new homes.” He held the gate open for Idalia and he could already see the puppies clambering at the other gate on the door opposite, clearly desperate to see what was going on. “I think they’re ready to meet you.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia didn’t blame Russell for being apprehensive, it was never certain how dogs would receive each other. Even though Ike had never had a problem before, that had always been with full grown dogs, there was no telling how Ike would react to the puppies. She patted his head and smiled down affectionately as he leaned against the leash toward the noise of the puppies. Ike was focused in a way that only a dog could be, completely and utterly centered on something unseen. Ida smiled at Russell and nodded her head. “Soon they’ll be grown and you’ll be able to slow down a bit, right?” She asked, not altogether certain that that would be something that Russell would do. He was very much like her, work oriented and driven. Maybe like her, idle hands would drive him mad.

The meteorologist blushed, she was around her people too much. She often forgot what it was like to be new to this field when she was so immersed in it. And Russell humored her, she was glad and she put her phone away ducking her head. One day she’d explain it to him, perhaps.
“Hopefully not!” She agreed, “And on the brighter side, I haven’t seen anything either.” She gestured randomly at her eyes. They had talked about their powers and she wondered if he remembered. At least Ike was with her, that dog seemed to have an uncanny way of helping her keep her bearings during a vision. Especially when that vision was sunny weather on a sunny day. It was easy to get confused and sometimes she didn’t even realize she was having a vision. It made driving an adventure, certainly.

Ike’s antics made Idalia’s face color. Oh this dog could be embarrassing sometimes. “We talked about this,” Ida scolded her canine with her hands on her hips. Ike didn’t care. He was getting attention and that was just the greatest thing in the world. Idalia couldn’t help but smile as she watched Russell. Ike bounced on his feet like he was thinking about jumping again, but luckily Russell’s rubs were doing just the trick to keep Ike happy. “There’s so much new stuff here, he can’t figure it all out,” she said with a laugh in her voice. “Who knows maybe he thinks you’re his Shaggy and he can jump into your arms when he’s scared.” She gave a coy little smile at her terrible joke. She had to get some credit right? At least it wasn’t weather themed!

Nodding her head, Idalia held onto Ike and waited for Russell the fortify the area. She let Ike off the leash, just for fear he would hurt himself or do damage with it to some of Russell’s things. She draped it over one of the gates. “Oh my goodness,” Idalia said catching sight of the puppies over the gate. Ike whined loudly and barked when Idalia crossed the barrier and he was denied. She bent back over the gate and kissed his head, getting a few kisses in return. “I’m alright, I’m just gonna be here. It’s okay, be good.” She gave him a good scratch and he sat with a whine. “You’d think I was leaving and never coming back,” she said to Russell with a smile on her lips. Her hands went to her lips and she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of all of the wriggling puppies. She reached out her hand and squeezed Russell’s arm a wave of affection for both him and his soft heart and the puppies he was raising. Letting her hand linger just a moment, she just enjoyed the view. Finally, with a little bit of regret she pulled away and stepped right in. Without fear she crouched down to be on the puppies level. “Oh, how cute you are!” She said as she was swarmed by the warm and tumbling bodies. She scratched heads and rubbed bellies. “Have you decided what to name them?” She asked.