StarCrossedanAngelPawsshort

story

JordanTaylor

Copyright©2013byJordanTaylor.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystemor

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StarCrossed

Starstoodonthecementfloorof the kennel, tail swingingslowly, head tilted as ifhearing a strange sound. Shewatched Liz with her deepbrown eyes shrouded byuncertainty.

The chain link door closed

withaclick.

“She’ll have a great timehere,” the volunteer said toLizandTom.

Liz could hardly hear her,thoughshekepttalkingaboutthe training, the feeding, thelove and attention each dogreceived. Liz could not lookinto Star’s eyes for anothermoment—those endless,soulful eyes that stared intoher.Herowngreeneyeswere

fulloftears.

Shewalkedquicklydowntherow of other watchfulLabrador and GoldenRetrievers, out the door. Bythetimeshereachedfreshair,Liz was running, blind withtears, shaking from head totoe.

“Liz?”Tom joggedafterher.“Liz,please—”

“Iwanttogohome.”

“Iknowit’shard,but—”

“Iwanttogohome!”Lizwasthrough the parking lot,grabbingforthedooroftheirblueCR-V.

She heard Tom fumblingkeys from his pocket. Thedoorsunlocked.

Liz already had her seat belton as Tom climbed into thedriver’s seat beside her. Shepulledtissuesfromherpurse,

coveringherface.

His hand rested on hershoulder.“I’msosorry.”

Theysatthereforalongtime,himsilent,hercryingintothetissues, until Tom pulled thecaroutofthelot.Startingthehour’sdrivehome.

LeavingStarbehind.

~~~

Elizabeth Barrett, universallyknownasLiz,hadlongedforababysincesheherselfwasalittle girl. She carried dollseverywhere,tuckedtheminatnight, told them stories,rocked and fed them andpushed them in strollers.Later, she babysat, playedendless games of peek-a-boowith her little cousins, anddaydreamed about the day

she would cradle her ownchildinherarms.

But Liz had another featurewhich her mother insistedwould take her far:practicality. One thing at atime.

She grew up,met Andy, fellin love, went to school tobecome a teacher, fell out oflove,workedhard,metTom.

LizandTomweremarriedat

25. By 26 Liz’s friends andfamily started dropping hintsthat they were lookingforward to the first babyshower—orhadalreadybeenplanningtheeventforher.By27 the anticipation wasturning to curiosity, evenconcern. Everyone in Liz’slife, from her mother to herfavorite librarian, knew howmuchshewantedababy.

Tom, who grew up with six

siblings,couldn’twaittostarta family. They were settled,both working, not yetprepared for a mortgagepayment,butcomfortableandsaving.Theywereready.Buttherewasstillnobaby.

One evening at dinner, withLiz’s mind miles away,wandering over grades andfunding, Tom asked if shehadeverconsideredgettingapuppy.

Liz almost laughed—juststopping herself with thereminder that Tom was athoughtfulman.Adraftsman,Tom could solve complexpuzzles—that would makeLiz’s hair stand on end—simplybylookingatthemforaminuteortwo.Hewouldn’thave said such a thing if hewasn’tserious.

Keeping her tone mild, shesaid, “I’m not looking for a

replacement,Tom.”

“Ofcoursenot.”Heshookhishead, then set down his forkacross from her at the oaktable. He had fixed themhomemadepizzaandatossedsalad:theonlymealhecouldcook besides grilling, butalways delicious. “That’s notwhat I mean at all. It’s just.…”

Shewatched him frown overhis pizza, searching for the

rightwords.

“We haven’t been blessedwith a child yet. I’m notsayingwewon’tbe.AndI’mnot saying we should get adog instead of starting afamily. Nothing like that. Ialwayshaddogsgrowingup.Maybe”—hesmiled—“beforethebabycomes,wecouldseehowwellwedowithapuppy.Idon’tmeantosayadogandababyarethesame,but…it

couldn’t hurt to have thepractice.”

“Idon’tknow.”Lizshookherhead, though it wasimpossiblenot tosmileback.“I’ve never had a dog. Itsounds like a lot of extrawork just now. We’re nothomeenoughforapuppy,arewe? Do people take puppymaternityleave?”

Tomchuckled.“Idon’tknowabout that. But I’m still

workingfromhomesomeandyou’ll soon be off for thesummer.”

“Thenwhat?Whatifwegetadog and, in six months, justwhen it’s destroying thehouse and turned our livesupside down, I find out I’mpregnant? Then we have ateenage dog and a baby onourhands.”

Tom pushed away his plateand leaned back in his chair.

“You’vegotmethere.”

Liz chuckled, but she didthink about a dog over thenext few days. She’d neverhad a dog before, neverthoughtofthepossibility.Hermother was highly allergicandLizhadlittlecontactwithdogsgrowingup.

Nowshebegantowonderifapuppy wasn’t a good ideaafter all. It would take theirminds off baby impatience,

give thema commongoal inthe raising and training of it.And,perhaps, it reallywouldbe good to have practicetakingcareofacreaturewhowas solely dependant on thetwoofthemforfood,shelter,affection.

Lizbrowsedonlineandwentto the library, where shediscovered book after bookstatingthatgettingadogwasalifetimecommitment.Adog

could live 12, 13, even 16years or more. There wasfood, medical bills, care forwhen theywere out of town,exercise, training. What ifthey moved? What aboutlandlords?What if therewasanaccident?

Bythetimeshehadskimmedafewdogbooks,Lizdroppedthe idea.Theymade it soundso dreadfully serious. Onedidn’t just go out casually to

addapuppytoone’slifeanymorethanonecasuallyaddedababy.

ItwassomeweeksafterTomfirst mentioned a dog, andthey had said nothing elseabout it,whenLizwasat thegrocery store and sawsomethingthatmadeherturnfor another look. A blackLabradorRetrieverpuppy satquietly at a woman’s feet asshe paid for her groceries in

the checkout line. The dogwore a bright blue vest withwhite letters:DO NOT PET.ServiceDoginTraining.

Liz longed to approach thewoman to ask about thebeautiful pup, but they wereon their way out and Lizcouldn’t abandon her cart tochase them through theparkinglot.

She made a mental note andwent home that evening to

look up training service dogpuppiesonline.Anhourlater,she was still reading,enthralled. And had alreadysent a couple of emails. Bythe timeTomwashome, shehadn’t even started dinner,but was on the phone withCindy Williamson of TheCanine Service Academy,onlyanhourfromhome.

WhenLizhungup,sherantoTominthekitchen,beaming,

slightly out of breath. “Howwouldyouliketobeapuppyraiser?”

Tomlookedather.“Ithoughtwedecidedthatwastoobigacommitmentrightnow.”

“This puppy is only for ayear.”

Tom cocked his head. “I’mlistening.”

~~~

ThefirsttimeStargazedintoLiz’s face with those huge,inquisitive puppy eyes, blacknose, floppy ears, all set insmooth, creamy gold fuzz,Liz finally understood theexpression“meltyourheart.”

All Liz wanted to do withStar those first days wascuddleandplayandcarrythepuppyaroundeverymoment.Starseemedtohaveonlytwo

settings:OnandOff:

She ran, chased, trippedoverherownfeet.Sheyapped,bitfingers, dragged soft puppytoys around the house like aproud conqueror. She kissedfaces, licked toes, stuck herlittle face intoshoes,crawledunder beds, and evenmanaged the back steps onher own. The next moment,Star would be out—floppedonherside, tail,ears,andall

four limbs fanned like a seastar.Atsuchtimes,Lizcouldpickherup,kisshermuzzle,carryheraroundonherbackwith her paws in the air, orsettleherinsidehercratebed—all without the chunkypuppyevenopeninghereyes.

“Ithoughttrainingstartsrightaway,”Tom said,walking inone evening to find Lizrocking Star in her arms asshe waited for the oven to

preheat.

“She’ll get her training.” Lizsmileddownintothesmooth,peaceful face. “But she canhave a few cuddles now andthen.”

“Now and then, eh?” Tomgrinnedatthem.“Remember,it’sonlyforayear.”

“Don’tworryaboutus.We’llbe pros by the time she’sready to start official

training.” Liz pressed thepuppy into Tom’s arms andturned to grab the casseroledish. She was off for thesummer now—finding thatcooking, learning about dogtraining from the servicedogacademy, and puppy raisingallsuitedher.

Liz did get down to thetraining part over the nextfew days. Star wasn’t evenhouse-trained and Liz had a

prepared curriculum tofollow, including weeklyclasses.Housebreaking, cratetraining, leash training, thenbasic obedience. It had beenquite a process just to jumpthrough all the hoops andqualifytoget theservicedogpuppyinthefirstplace.NowLiz and Tom were bothdetermined not to let theorganizationdown.

Star’s future—if she was

properly raised andsocialized, properly trained,hadtherighttemperamentforit, and passed all the finaltests—lay in being a guidedog for a blind or visuallyimpaired person. Less than ayear to turn this fuzzy,mouthing heap into a calm,mannerly,even-tempereddogwith all her obedience up toscratch. Then a professionaltrainer with the organizationwould take over and real

guidetrainingcouldbegin.

As the firstmonth flew past,Liz found herself amazed byhowmuchtimeapuppytook.Andshewas,afterall,onlyapuppy.Onecouldnotplaceahuman baby in a crate for acouple hours to meet friendsfor dinner. Perhaps Starwasgood parenthood practiceafterall.

Although he didn’t coo overherorcarryheraroundonher

back like a baby, Liz couldseeTomfallingfortheirheapofgoldenfur justasmuchasshe was. He spent shorttraining sessions with her inthe evenings,workingon sit,lie down, and stay. He wasalways vigilant about herschedule, quick to take herout in themorning, then lastto take her out at night,rewarding with lavish praiseandpettingwhenshedidherbusiness outside. If he

watched TV in the eveningsnow,hedidsowithacoupleof dog toys and a brushhandy. Theywould play andgroom, practice putting theServiceDog in Training veston and off, then flop backtogether on the couch, StardrapedoverTom’s lap likeastuffedtoy.

Liz didn’t know if Tomwasdeliberately working extrahard with the puppy because

he wanted to show her, Liz,whatagooddadhecouldbe,or if he just had dogexperience from hischildhood and knew howthingsworked.Eitherway,hewas doing a good job, shethought, watching them onenightastheylayonthecouchtogether—Tom with his feetup,Star stretchedout againsthim,pawstwitchinginsleep.

Star’s training grew more

serious as she venturedfarther and farther into theworld. Once she had learnedthat it was safe andcomfortable to be left homealoneinhercrate,shelearnedthat it was evenmore fun togoalong.

Tomsettledacarcratefirmlyin the back of theCR-V andthetwoofthemstartedStar’seducationoutsidethehome.

Over the next months, Liz

took Star to the park topractice come, the grocerystore to practice watch me,the drug store for stay work,the post office for lie down,and the bank—where Starimpressed both clerks andclientele by demonstratingshealreadyknewhowtoturninacircleandshakehandsoncue.

BythetimeStarreachedfivemonthsold,shewasgoingin

restaurants, walking throughthe mall, riding buses, andhadevenbeentoherfirst3Dmovie.Shealsohad togo toworkwitheitherLizorTom,mostlyLiz,everydaynow.Inbetween,therewasobedienceat home, vet visits, meetingsand classes with the servicedog team, including otherpuppy raisers, and plenty ofexercise for Star with longwalksandgamesathome.

Such a lot of work. Lizmarveled at what puppyraisersletthemselvesinforasshefellbackinbedonenight.Tom was already there. Hisreadinglighton,buthisbookon his chest and his eyesclosed.

So much. Yet, Star made iteasy. Even the other puppyraisershadnoticed:

“That’s a lovely puppyyou’vegot.”

“Isshealwaysthisattentive?”

“She knows just what youwant.”

Liz glanced over the side ofthe bed to see Star stretchedout in her new, full-sizedcrate, big enough to growinto.Thedoorwasopen,butitwas still her favorite placeto sleep.Her light gold coat,dusted in white, gleamed indim light. Her feet were

enormous and her earsflopped too big around hersoft face. She still had somuchgrowingtodo.

It’s all her, Liz thought,watching the big puppy. Starwas the one getting Lizthrough this. Not Liz gettingStar through. They hadnicknamed her Little Lady,Emily (Post), and Big Eyes,becauseofherquietmanners,her watchfulness, her

constantattentiontothem.

Although,ofcourse, shewasstill a puppy and had puppymoments. The first time Lizmade a special trip to theairportforStar’sbenefit,Starspotted a police K-9patrolling through theterminal and decided sheneeded to see him. Shebarked, whined, and jumpedagainst her leash. The K-9barkedback.

Mortified, Liz dragged herpup out to the sidewalk,crowded with travelersdisembarking taxis andprivate cars. Pulling Star outof the way, Liz snapped thecollar sharply and shook afingerinherface.

“No.Sit.”

She had been warned not togo around doing that—noharsh physical corrections—but to use tone of voice and

body language. Under noaccount was she to riskfrightening her charge ormaking her leery of thingslike airports or crowdedsidewalks. The puppy classtrainer warned her that dogssometimes generalize withalarmingspeed.

Starsat.ShegazedupatLiz,dark eyes wide, ears back,ignoring the crowds aroundthem.Apassivebutattentive

face Liz could already read:I’m sorry. Tell me what youwant.

“Good girl, good Star.” Lizscratched her neck, focusedherwith a treat, then led herbackinsidethenoisyairport.

K-9 and handler had movedon.Starhardly tookher eyesfrom Liz’s face as theypracticed simple exerciseslikesitanddownstayaroundthequietestbagcheckareas.

“You really are a star,” Liztold her and kissed hermuzzle before leading theway back to the parkinggarage.

Liz and Tom were not theonly ones enamored withtheir rapidly growingLabrador. Liz’s second-graders adored her. Tom’sarchitect and draftsmancoworkers all knew andpraised her. Nearly everyone

in the local shops—fromgrocerystoretobookstoretopizza place to service station—knewStar.Everyoneinthebankandlibraryspoketoherby name and asked Liz howthings were going. Whenfriends came over, theyusually greeted Star beforeLizandTom:

“How’sthelittlelady?”

“Hey,Star.”

“Where’sEmilybeenvisitingtoday?”

Liz had never had anythingagainst dogs. But she hadn’thad much for them either.Shethoughtdogswerenicetohave around. Like the colorpink. It wasn’t her favorite,but itwas a great accent andjusttherighttouchforcertainoccasions.While she’dneveractually laughed at anyonesaying their dog was like a

child to them, she couldn’ttakesuchathingseriously.

Until Star. One puppy, onewatchful, eager, affectionatedog, and Liz began toquestion everything she hadever thought,ornotbotheredto think, about the mostmagical interspeciesrelationship in theworld. BythetimeStarwasinhersixthmonth,Lizfreelyadmittedit:she was a committed dog

person.

At the same time, a newdoubt, a newworry, grew inthe back of her mind. Sixmonths.Star’stimewiththemwasdwindling.

One day soon, Liz’s littlelady would not be hersanymore.

~~~

Maybe it was the cementkennel rather than a comfyfamily room and couch.Maybe it was Liz’s ownrepressed emotions finallybursting through the surface.Maybe itwas theexpectancychanging to bewilderment inStar’s eyes. Maybe it wassimply not being able toexplaintoherbig,fuzzybabygirl the when and why of itall.

After crying herself homefromthekennelonthat long,horrible drive, worse eventhan thedrive to takeStar in—abandonher,lockherup—Liz couldn’t sleep. Shecouldn’t eat. Couldn’t work.Called in sick for the rest oftheweek.

Just the sight of Star’swaterbowl, still on the kitchenfloor, or her favorite tennisball, cracked and with half

the green fuzz shredded off,would choke Liz, block herthroat,fillhereyes.

Nothing anyone said helped.Because Liz already knewshe was being irrational.Being selfish. She knew allalongshewasraisingStarfora higher purpose. She knewshe would have to give herup. She knew this wouldhappen. And she had beenready.Readytogritherteeth

andsaygoodbye.

But she hadn’t known, couldnever have guessed, howdevastating that goodbyecouldbe.

After a few days, TompackedStar’sthingstheystillhad in a plastic storage box.She could tell he didn’t likeseeingthemaroundanymorethanshedid.

“Not to get rid of,” he said.

“Justto…setasidefornow.”

Set aside.She justhad to sether little lady aside. In akennel. Behind a cold, steelfence, with strange dogs,strangepeople.Setheraside.

By Monday, Liz returned towork, but all the kids askedabout Star. They knew shehad been returning to theorganization to start guidetraining.Nowtheywanted toknowhowshewas,whenshe

would be a real guide dog,wouldtheyseeheragainoneday?

Lizlongedtoreturntobed.

She received email updatesfrom the volunteers at thetrainingfacilityover thenextweekswhichshesharedwithherstudents:Starwasagreatdog, willing and polite. Lizhad done wonderful workwith her. She was becomingeveryone’sfavorite.

Lizwonderediftheysaidthistoall thepuppyraisersat theend.

They had to wait monthsbefore any chance of seeingStar again. If she graduated,Liz and Tom would beinvited to the final ceremonywith other raisers from theclass. Then they would havethechancetoseetheirbabiesinaction.If.

Ifshedidn’tgraduate—ifshefailed the tests, dropped outof the program—Star wouldgo into civilian placement.The first choice when thishappened was for the growndog to return to the puppyraiser. If your dog flunked,you had the chance to keepher.

Liz tried not to think of this.Tried to tell herself therecould be nothing better for

Starthanfulfillingthedestinyshe was born for. Star wasnever meant to be a pet.Servicewasinherblood,hervery genetic code, throughthe organization’s breedingprogram.Thiswasherfate.

Yet,therewasaspark,whichgrew to a flame, whichshamedLizintoneversayingitoutloud—adesperatehopewhich she buried and deniedeventoherself.

The weeks and monthspassed. Liz received picturesof Star in emails which shecould hardly look at. PerfectStar in harness with hertrainer. The volunteers keptassuring Liz that she wasdoing wonderfully. Liz sankdeeper and deeper with eachword.

When the invitation came,Liz felt sick: a mixture ofgrief for the now unalterable

lossofherdogandpridethatStar really was going to besomeone’seyes.

Lizcouldn’tgotograduation,of course. It had been hardenough the first time. Shecouldn’t say goodbye again.It was over. Star had a newlife togetonwith,apromisetofulfill.Lizhadtoletgo.

“What?” Tom stared at heracross the table. The sametwo spots they occupied the

first time he mentionedgetting a puppy. “Howcouldyounotgo?”

“Easy.I’llstayhere.Ihavealotofpaperstograde.”

“Liz—”

“I can’t go. It’s not fair forher to have to see me andthen go off with strangersanothertime.”

“Not fair to her, or too hard

onyou?Don’tyoucarewhatit would mean to her to seeyou?Don’tyouwanttomeetthepeopleshe’llbespendingthe rest of her life with? Isthathowyou’regoingtofeelabout a child’s collegegraduation?Raise them,sendthemtoschool,thenrefusetosee them graduate becausethey’re officially movingout?”

“It’s not the same thing,

Tom.” Liz sat rigidly in herseat,mouthlikesandpaper.

“I’mgoing,”hesaid.“Ithinkyou should go too. In fact, Ithink it’s really, reallyimportant that you go, Liz.Butdowhateveryouwant.”

Hestoodandstartedclearingthetable.

Ashamed, furious, longing toshout at him, Liz only sat instony silence, stomach

churning.

In the morning, feeling evenmore nauseated, she got up,showered,anddressedfortheevent, joiningTominthecarwithoutaword.

Over an hour later, theanxious, camera-clutchingpuppy raisers and familymembers of the graduatinghumans filed into the large,open building with manyrows of chairs facing a

podiumandprojectorscreen.

Once settled, they werewelcomed and thankedpersonally by the director oftheorganization.

Thensheaddressedthepuppyraisers:“Icouldtellyouwhata difference each of you hasmade. I could tell you thatwithout you we couldn’tchangetheliveswechange.Icould tell you each one ofyou is a hero for doingwhat

you do.But I’d like to showyouthisinstead.”

The director stepped asideand sat down as the roomdimmed. A film startedagainst thewhite screenwithtext over black: A messagefor our puppy raisers, fromeveryone at The CanineService Academy and ournewgraduatingclass…

As the film started and theaudiencecooedandsighedor

laughed, Liz knew it wastheirdogs.Theirpuppiestheyhad loved, trained, takeneverywhere with them.Learning to stop at curbs,avoiding trash cans on thesidewalk,standingwhiletheirharnesses were put on,running and playing withballsanddisks.

When Star appeared on thescreen, Liz could hardlybreathe.Herbabygirlwalked

to a row of cement steps, inharness with a trainer,stopped,andlookedupatthewoman gripping the handle.The trainer felt the stepwithher foot and, at a command,Starledherup.Atthelandinganddoor,Starstoppedagain.The woman bent to strokeandpraiseher.

There followed clips of thefirst meetings between someof the new human

companions to these nowworking dogs. Liz saw ayoung man, not much over20, sliding off his chair in aroom at the facility to reachoutwith both hands and feelhis way across Star’s bluntmuzzle, her soft ears, downher neck, across her back—ahuge, blissful smile on hisface. Her tail waved as shestoodclose.

Liz watched as other dogs

worked together with theirnew people and their oldtrainers. Out of the facilitynow, in the realworldof thecity ten minutes away.Traffic, pedestrians, dogs,birds, food, noise and smellseverywhere.

She watched as Star led theyoungman,stillsmiling,ontoa bus. Another clip showedStar lying at his feet in arestaurant among three other

newhuman/canine teams.Hereached down to find herhead by his knee and rubbedher ears. Then the pairmaneuvered a congestedsidewalk to a street corner.No trainer or assistant now.Just Star and the smilingyoung man with his faceslightly down-turned, as ifwatchinghisnewdog.

Star stopped at the curb. Shestudied cars flying past with

herheadup,earspricked.Thelight changed. The audiosignalbeeped.Themanspoketoher.Starcrossedthestreet,pulling against the harness.At the far side, she paused.Hefeltthecurbwithhisfoot.They walked on. Then hestoppedher,thoughtherewasnothingelse in theirpath.AsStar stood,gazingup at him,he knelt and hugged her,pressing his face into herneck.Starremainedstill,only

her tail waving back andforth.

The picture faded to blackonce more and the originaltextconcludedwith:…thankyou.

Thelightscameup.Everyoneapplauded. Tears ran downLiz’s cheeks. Tom put hisarmaroundhershoulders.

More people from theorganizationstoodandtalked.

Trainersandmanagersof theprograms. Then, wheneveryone had just aboutpulled themselves together inthe audience, the graduateswere announced and startedfilingin,twobytwo.

“JamesandLucy.TannerandSunny. Jessica and Hunter.Nancy and Bella. CameronandStorm.”

Liz knew that Sunny andStorm were two of Star’s

litter-mates and she held herbreath. When she finallyheard, “Jacob and Star,” Lizclosedhereyesforamoment,tried to fill her lungs, gaveup,openedhereyes.

Star walked calmly to thepodium to line up with theothers.She looked soold, somature. Strong, perfectly inshape. She had grown intothose big paws and silly,floppyearsatlast.Shewasa

picture. A full-grown, sleek,pale gold Labrador—beautiful.

The young man at her sidewalkeduprightand tall,headstill tilted a bit down, a vastsmile still on his face.Whentheyreachedtheirplaces,Starsat by his side. Jacob restedhishandonhersmoothhead.

Liz hardly heard the rest.Golden bells and trumpetsfilled her ears. White lights

like angels’ wings blindedher.Abrassbandplayedjustforher.

When the ceremony endedandeveryonewasallowed togreet the human/canineteams, hug and congratulate,Liz and Tom stayed back.They watched what lookedlike Jacob’s mother and acouple of younger siblingshugginghim.Hismotherheldhisfaceandkissedhimwhile

Jacoblaughed.Thenshebenttograbtheheadofthedogbyhissideandkisshertoo.

Star lashed her tail as shelookedaroundatthefamily.

Gently, Tom took Liz’s armand stepped forward. Starlookedaround.Herheadshotup, her nose twitched, hereyes widened. Her wholebody trembled by Jacob’sside.

Jacob’s mother glancedaround. “Her puppy raisersare here. Why don’t you lethergo?”

“Okay, Star,” Jacob said.“Release.”

StarboundedintoLiz’sarms.She licked and whined andthrashedherwholebodybackand forth in wild, joyfulwags.Shecriedandrolledonher back, then jumped upagain to greet Tom, licking

hisfaceashekneltdown.Shethrew herself at Liz oncemore,thensprangbacktohernew family, gazing up atthem, wagging, mouth openand panting, eyes dancing,thenbacktoLizandTom.Asifshewastellingallofthem,Look!Canyoubelievewho’shere?Lookatthis!

Liz laughed and cried—“I’mso,so proudof you,Star.”—andhuggedherdog—Jacob’s

dog—as if she would neverletgo.

But she would, she realized.Now she could. She alreadyhad.

Epilogue

Somehow, the car ride homeis far shorter than theprevious ones. The nauseacontinues, though Liz can’trecall everbeingmotion sickin her life. And why shouldshestillfeelsicknow?SheislightasairafterthelongvisitwithStarandhernewfamily

attheacademy.

Yet.… Ten minutes fromhome,sheasksTomtostopatthe drugstore. Does he needanything? No. He sits in thecar, smiling over pictures onthe little screen of theircameraasshegoesin.

At home, Liz doesn’t waitaround. She has to know.Now.

Out of the bathroom, feeling

lightheaded, out of breath,she finds Tom uploading thephotostohislaptop.

“Look at this,” he says,turning. “Our baby girl allgrownup.”

“Howaboutanotherone?”

Tom stares at her. “What? Idon’t know about anotherpuppyrightaway,Liz.”

“This onewon’t have floppy

earsandatail.”

There’s a second, perhapstwoor three,whentheystareat one another—his mouthopen, her smile as broad asJacob’s at the ceremony.Thenthey’rebothshoutingashe jumps from his chair tohugher.

ANoteOnPuppyRaising

Theorganization,people,anddogs in this story arefictitious. However, puppyraising is very real and ofvital importance to servicedog programs all over theworld.

Ifyou,orsomeoneyouknow,arethinkingofbecomingoneof the behind the scenesheroes of the service dogworld, here are links to helpgetyoustarted:

CanineCompanionsforIndependencehttp://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.4011029/k.6CF1/Puppy_Raising_Program.htm/

TheSeeingEyehttp://www.seeingeye.org/raise/

GuideDogsfortheBlind

http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=help_volunteer_puppy

LeaderDogsfortheBlindhttp://www.leaderdog.org/volunteer/puppyraiser/

GuideDogsofAmericahttp://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/1/programs/puppy-raising/

KSDS,Inc.AssistanceDogshttp://www.ksds.org/KSDS_dogs_puppyraisers.htm

NEADShttp://www.neads.org/puppyraisers

CanDoCanineshttp://can-do-canines.org/puppy-raiser/

OrGoogleservicedogpuppyraiser with your home stateor country to find anorganizationnearyou.

AbouttheAuthor

Jordan Taylor has been aprofessional dog trainer forover ten years, working in avariety of areas from privateconsultations to agility andentertainment—training dogsforfilm,advertising,andlivetheater. Her first book,Wonder Dogs: 101 German

Shepherd Dog Films, tracesthe history of GermanShepherd Dogs in moviesfrom the 1920s to moderntimes. Jordan continues tomerge her love for writingand dogs at home in thePacificNorthwest.

Stories in the Angel Pawsseries celebrate the uniquebond between canines andhumans with heartfelt,moving, and insightful tales

for anyone who has everlovedadog.

If you enjoyedStarCrossed,please leave a review onAmazonandfindmoreAngelPaws stories on Jordan’sauthor page:https://amazon.com/author/jordantaylor

YoucanfindJordantweetingontwitter.com/JordanTaylorLit,updating her website atwww.jordantaylorbooks.com,

and being delighted to hearfrom readers throughjordantaylorbooks@gmail.com

TableofContents

TitlePageStartEpilogueANoteonPuppyRaisingAbouttheAuthor

TableofContents

TitlePageStartEpilogueANoteonPuppyRaisingAbouttheAuthor