I stood with him against my chest.
That was when he made the sound.
At first I thought his breathing had changed.
Then he did it again.
A low, broken noise rose from somewhere deep in his chest.
Not a bark.
Not the sharp cry of sudden pain.
Something softer.
Something trembling.
He pushed his face into my shirt.
“Oh.”
His body began to shake.
“I’ve got you.”
The sound came again.
I had been around frightened dogs.Shop Dog Food
Angry dogs.
Dogs screaming after accidents.
Dogs who had spent so long chained outside that they did not know what to do when someone touched them gently.
But I had never heard a dog make exactly that sound.
It reminded me of someone trying not to sob.
I carried him toward the truck.
His head remained against my chest.
When I lowered him onto the blanket across the rear seat, his eyes opened immediately.
