Orion's owner was Butch, chief of police in Nome. Every morning at precisely five o'clock, Butch and Orion would enter the police station. Over the next hour, the rest of Nome's police officers would join them. They would mostly work on paperwork and the like for a few hours, until Cassie arrived at seven o'clock on her way to school and drop Saba off.
The typical day was actually fairly boring. Crime rate in Nome was low, especially violent crimes. For the most part, Saba would train with Orion in the morning, working on getting her heart rate down and her muscle build up. Lunchtime came at noon, followed by a nap before the afternoon arrived.
Every afternoon was different. Sometimes Butch would take Orion and Saba out for a walk around town, and they would meet with various citizens and visitors; by now, Saba knew almost everyone in Nome by name, human and dog. Sometimes there were events to attend, such as funerals and award ceremonies, where Saba and Orion would sit at attention side-by-side while Butch did his thing. Regardless of what happened, Cassie would pick Saba up at seven in the afternoon and take her home, where she would eat supper and go straight to bed.
For the most part, life as a police dog was not as adventurous as Saba had expected when she was a pup. In some ways, that was a good thing; it meant that things in Nome were quiet and that the citizens were keeping the law. And despite the relentless training and exercising that Saba was put through day after day, it was nice being able to relax afterward, and not have to worry about worse things.
But still, Saba itched for more. Her body and her mind both longed for the day that all her training would be paid off. She had twice the muscle of any other husky in Nome, even the sled dogs, and her nose was now able to smell a gram of contraband from over a half-mile away. Every time the phone rang in the police station, her ears would perk up and her tail began to wag uncontrollably, hoping it would be a call meant just for her.
It had yet to happen even once. When a police dog was needed, Butch always took Orion and left Saba behind. Saba was always disappointed, and did her best to hide it well. Orion would barely give her a "See you later" on his way out the door.
Saba tried not to despair. She knew Orion was always called solo because he was more experienced, not to mention a German Shepherd. And even if Butch considered taking Saba along, Orion would use his body language to persuade him to leave her behind. To Orion, Saba was still just too weak and unreliable as a police dog to work on the big cases yet.
My time will come soon enough, she reassured herself. In the meantime, I'll just keep getting stronger, so I'm prepared for when it happens.
So she told herself this day, after she had eaten lunch and began winding down for her afternoon nap. Training that morning had been especially vigorous, with Saba continuing to push her limits after her performance the day before had left Orion unimpressed. As a result, she was exhausted, and hurting in several places. But she was optimistic; Orion had noticed her hard work, and had given her a rare compliment after they had arrived back at the police station.
Almost as soon as they entered through the door, Butch was in the middle of hanging up the phone. He got up from his desk, grabbed Orion's leash from the wall, and turned to the other officers. "Doc says he's missing some pharmaceutical products from his inventory. Could be part of a narcotics ring. I'll take Orion and Saba to investigate."
Saba barely understood a word of what Butch said, but as soon as she heard that she was going to tag along, she couldn't help but perk her ears and wag her tail in excitement. She turned excitedly to Orion and smiled.
Orion seemed shocked at the prospect of Saba tagging along, and quickly walked over to Butch. As his master put the leash on his collar, he tried to pull Butch along so they could make a quick exit like they usually this.
This time, however, Butch was persistent. He held tight to Orion's leash and grabbed the spare on the wall. "It's about time Saba got some real time in as a police dog, don't you think, boy?"
Orion grumbled, but gave Saba a defeated look and let Butch put her leash on. She could barely contain her excitement, and as soon as she felt the leash clip into place, she impatiently dragged Butch and Orion out the front door.
The hospital was just down the street, and it didn't take long for the three of them to make the walk over—even quicker since Saba was the one leading the way. Within minutes, Butch was inside talking with Doc, asking questions and writing down notes, while Saba and Orion waited for him outside.
Saba couldn't stop smiling. Here I am, finally on my first big case! I really feel like a police dog now, for the first time in my life! She kept glancing over excited at Orion, and every time, Orion would roll his eyes and find something else to stare at indifferently.
That was fine by her. Saba refused to let anyone take this moment away from her. She didn't even mind the looks that a pair of dogs gave her as they walked down the street, undoubtedly on their way to non-police dog business.
She was convinced that at this point in her life, she just couldn't be happier. The thought caused her to once again shoot a glance in Orion's direction.
This time, he decided to let his irritation known. "You can stop that now," he mumbled.
"I can't," Saba responded, quite honestly. "I'm just so happy! I've been waiting for this day my whole life!"
"You're not exactly doing anything," Orion remarked.
"I am too!" Saba closed her eyes and felt the warm sun on her fur; it wouldn't be up in the sky much longer anyway today. "I'm doing police dog work! I'm helping you and Butch track down criminals!"
"You don't even know there is a criminal," Orion shot back. But as soon as he finished speaking, Butch and Doc opened the door to the hospital.
"Don't worry, Doc," Butch assured him. "We'll track down these criminals as soon as we can."
Orion ignored Saba's widened smile and snorted. Under his breath, he continued, "I am the lead police dog. I do all the work. You're just here to get some experience. That's all."
Butch approached Orion from behind and patted him on the head. "Hey, boy, how about we let Saba track this one?" he suggested.
Saba's smile could not get any wider, and Orion's face could not fall any darker. As Butch grabbed their leashes and began leading them away from the hospital, he finished, "I'll verify everything you do. Got it?"
As restrictive as it was, it was the most freedom Orion had ever given her before. Saba gladly nodded her head, mentally preparing herself for whatever Butch required of her next.
Butch led the two dogs behind the hospital, to the boiler room. Saba knew it well; her father often came here with her mother during long winter nights, and sometimes invited her along. Butch spent a few seconds eyeing a corner of one of the walls, knocking against it a few times with his knuckles, before turning to Saba. "Okay, girl. Smell."
Saba obediently walked to the corner and sniffed. The usual scents were all there: wood, ash, a trace of water, dirt, and…
She sniffed again, then a third time just to be sure. She sat down and barked a single time, looking up to Butch in anticipation.
Butch stroked his chin. "You smelled it, huh?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dog treat. "Good girl, Saba." He tossed it to her, and before it could touch the ground she had it in her mouth. He then turned to Orion. "Your turn, boy."
Orion walked up next to Saba, gave a single long sniff, before sitting down and barking once as well, confirming Saba's conclusion. Butch chucked him a treat as well, before taking out a napkin and small knife from the same pocket. "Very interesting," he mumbled under his breath as he scraped against the wall. "Very interesting indeed." He held the napkin, which now contained a small piece of the wall, out to Saba. "Okay, girl. Track."
Saba took another quick sniff at the napkin, this time taking care to memorize the scent as best she could. Then she dropped her nose to the floor and began smelling it intensely, working her best to follow the scent as it left the wall. She had trained to do this ever since she had become a police dog, and she was surprised by how similar the real thing was to practice. She spread her stance and took slow, deliberate steps back and forth, making sure her trail was as close to the scent as possible. She tugged on her leash the whole time, leading Butch and Orion out the boiler room and down the street.
The scent was still fresh; whoever left it had been in the boiler room within the last twenty-four hours. Saba followed it to the outskirts of Nome, with Butch halting her every so often to have Orion verify she as still on the right trail. Saba was not very familiar with this part of town; it was exactly opposite from her father's home, so she rarely had a reason to come here. Nome itself was mostly to the west, and the wild Alaskan tundra bordered on the east.
Saba followed the scent through the few houses that there were out here, excited that the scent was only getting more strong as they walked. The scent darted between the houses, eventually leading to the woods themselves. Luckily, the scent did not go far into them, and when it finally went cold, Nome was still very much within sight.
However, the scent did go cold. Saba sniffed around in several big circles, just to be sure, before sitting down next to a large tree.
Butch stared at her in confusion. "Here, Saba?" He walked around the tree once, looking it up and down, before scratching his head. "You sure?"
Orion, without needing to be told, lowered his head and smelled up the ground. Within seconds, he came to the same conclusion as Saba: the scent stopped where they sat.
Butch crossed his arms in thought. "Well, whoever it was can't have just disappeared into thin air." He stared up in the sky and patted his foot against the ground. "There aren't any branches on this tree, at least not until pretty high up…" He froze, his foot above the dirt, and slowly looked down at his feet. "But maybe he didn't go up…"
He tapped his foot once, then again with greater force. The second time, Saba heard the sound of hollow wood under his boot. Excited, she jumped in the air and barked, pouncing at his feet.
Butch quickly pushed her away and dropped to one knee. He felt around the surrounding ground with his hands, eventually finding a door handle and pulling up hard on it. The dirt around it gave way, lifting up and revealing a trap door hidden among the brush.
"You thought you were so smart, didn't you fella?" Butch muttered to no one in particular. He glanced at the sky, took note of how much daylight was left, and let the door fall back to the ground. "It's too late to investigate any further," he relented, tugging at Saba and Orion's leashes. "Come on, let's go back to the station. The boys and I will finish this up tomorrow morning."
Saba had barely noticed the time fly past, but a quick look at the sky confirmed that it was now time for the work day to end. She was still excited, though. After all, she had just completed her very first task as a full-fledged police dog—and she had done it all on her own, without help from Orion.
The trip back to the police station was a short one, and Cassie was already waiting for her. As she and Butch had a quick exchange, Orion decided to have a few words of his own with Saba. She expected him to congratulate her on a job well done—or to at least say something positive about it.
His words, instead, wiped her smile clean off her face. "You were too slow. I could have done it with enough time left in the day to get more work done."
For a moment, Saba was speechless. After all she had accomplished, and after all she had done to prove herself, she still wasn't good enough in Orion's eyes.
She refused to let him ruin her good day, or to belittle her achievements from today. "Then I'll be faster next time," she responded, puffing her chest in confidence.
Orion barely gave her one final glance before Cassie began taking her home. As soon as he was out of sight, Saba found herself smiling once again. I will be better next time. I will make Orion proud of me. I will make him like me. It's only a matter of time.
Her smile got even bigger. And today was a great first step.
