After the coat incident Erin was more strict with following the trainers recommendations. She scheduled regular training sessions and made sure Jay attended with her. She wasn't about to let either of their sad puppy dog looks cost her the contents of her apartment.
Although if she was being fair, Jay was true to his word and didn't try and talk her out of any rules she'd put in place. Having Jay attend training worked out to be a blessing too. It wasn't long before Alfie was more at ease around Jay, listening to his commands and letting Jay pet him and walk him without hesitation. And he was slowly warming up to the other guys in the unit but she was sure it had more to do with them sneaking Alfie treats when she wasn't around rather than anything else.
Erin also had to admit Jay was a big help. He'd meant it when he said he would do this with her. She was grateful because Hank was right, this dog was a lot of work, but she wasn't going to admit that to him any time soon. And she definitely wasn't going to complain about the extra time she and Jay were spending together. Erin's tummy growled, interrupting her reflection and she remembered she'd promised to bring home dinner this evening. Jay had left earlier with the dog claiming to have some errands to run.
/
Ok so he wasn't exactly lying. He did have to grab a birthday gift for his brother, but he could have done that anytime between now and his actual birthday next week. Things had been dead at the district, surprisingly. It was a beautiful day and he couldn't stop thinking about how nice it would be to take Alfie out to the dog park and play. So he'd made the excuse of having errands to run, told Erin he'd take the dog with him, and now was happily playing catch in the sunshine with Alfie.
He was acting more and more like a normal pup each time they came out to play. He loved to run and jumped around with excitement when Jay pulled the ball from his pocket. Alfie still wasn't great at giving the ball up once he brought it back though. Jay tried to give him the 'drop it' command but Alfie just stared at him. When Jay reached down to take the ball Alfie playfully jumped away.
"Come back here you!" Jay laughed. Alfie dutifully came back and sat in front of Jay.
Again Jay reached for the ball and Alfie jumped around. Jay laughed. "You want to play keep away, do you?"
Jay playfully swiped at the ball and Alfie ran around him in a circle. They continued like this for several minutes until Jay tripped over Alfie and ended up on the ground. Alfie immediately came to Jay's side and dropped the ball.
"Why you little.." Jay laughed grabbing at Alfie and pulling him down beside him. Jay gruffly rubbed the dog's back and Alfie barked and playfully nudged Jay, licking his chin. They wrestled until they were both out of breath.
"Ok buddy, I call a truce... Let's go get some water." Jay clipped Alfie's leach back on, got up, brushed himself off and lead Alfie back to the car where he'd stored a drink for them both.
/
Jay took another long drink of water from his water bottle while he watched Alfie lap at the water in his bowl. He looked up when he heard three old Harley's pull into the parking lot. Jay was too busy admiring the bikes to notice Alfie's demeanour change. He stopped drinking his water, his ears pressed back, his tail dipped between his legs. The bikes shut down and one rider, a large scruffy looking man, came walking towards Jay. Alfie let out a low growl which caught Jay's attention. "Easy buddy." Jay soothed.
"Hey man, wondering if you can help me out." The scruffy looking man said when he's got near enough to speak.
"Sure, what's up?" Jay offered. Alfie moved to stand behind Jay, his head peaking around Jay's legs, and barked once at the stranger. The man stopped his approach. "He's nervous of strangers, especially guys." Jay apologized.
"It's cool dude. Got a couple rotties myself." The man crouched down, "hey buddy, you're cool, I'm not gonna hurt you." He said slapping his hand against his thigh in a 'come here' gesture. The motion and sound of the slap spooked Alfie, he jerked on the leash, ripping it from Jay's hand and took off across the parking lot.
"Oh fuck!" Jay cursed, then began chasing after Alfie and calling him, leaving the stranger standing dumbstruck. Jay watched in horror as Alfie blindly ran towards the busy street. He picked up his pace and continued to hurry after the dog but to no avail. Alfie charged into the road. Cars screeched to a halt and horns honked, further panicking the dog as he weaved back and forth franticly looking for an escape from the noise and strangers. Just as Jay was catching up to him, Alfie found an opening and ducked down a narrow ally.
The alley was dark, even at this time of afternoon, no sunlight penetrated between the four story buildings that flanked it. There were dumpsters and debris lining the narrow asphalt ally. At the far end Jay could see a fence. He hoped that there were no holes big enough for Alfie to get through. Or small enough to get stuck in, he though, more panic and worry rising in him.
Jay slowed to a walk and calmly began calling out to Alfie. "Hey buddy, it's okay. Come on. I got you." He looked around each dumpster, carefully lifting cardboard and pushing garbage bags that littered the alley to see where Alfie had hidden. The crunch of glass beneath his feet escalated Jay's worry. What if Alfie had cut himself?
As he approached the end of the alley he could see no signs of holes in the fence. This brought a bit of relief. Alfie had to be here somewhere. There was one last dumpster to hide behind. Jay carefully approached it, calling out to the dog. He heard a small whine in return. Jay crouched down and squinted, trying to see between the dumpster and the wall. He could just make out Alfie's figure crammed in the tight space. "It's okay Alfie. Hey, it's okay. It's just me. You're safe buddy. Come on. Come on out." Jay tried soothing and coaxing him over and over. He remembered the treats in his pocket, dug them out and offered them to Alfie in his open hand while continuing to quietly call the pup. He had flash backs to being a little boy with the stray dog behind his shed, but this dog wasn't budging.
Jay's legs began to cramp up, he'd been crouched so long. He examined the ground below him and, deciding it was clean enough, dropped to his knees. He was frustrated and worried. He didn't know how he was going to get Alfie out from behind the dumpster and he prayed the pup wasn't hurt.
Out of options and defeated, Jay fished out his phone to call Erin. She wasn't going to be impressed but if anyone could coax Alfie out it would be Erin. "Ok buddy, looks like I'm gonna have to call your mom to help get you out of here." Jay said, beginning to dial Erin's cell.
While he was looking down at his phone something cold and wet touched his knuckles. Jay froze. Alfie was stretching his head out from his hiding spot. When Jay didn't react Alfie nudged a little closer, this time trying to burrow his hand into Jays closed fist... the one holding the treats. Jay carefully turned his hand over and opened it. Alfie inched closer and inhaled the treat. Slowly Jay put his phone back in his pocket and reached to pet the dog, carefully trying to collect the leash in his hand without alerting Alfie. "It's okay. You're good," Jay soothed. After a moment of letting Jay pet him, Alfie stepped all the way from behind the dumpster. Jay breathed a sigh of relief as Alfie began licking Jay's face. "That's a good boy. You're okay now." Jay reassured him. "Can we go home now?" Jay pleaded. Alfie let out a bark. Jay slowly rose to his feet, and with a firm grip on the leash, led the dog back to the car.
/
His car stunk. Bad. He didn't know what Alfie had gotten into behind that dumpster but it was vile. Even with all the windows open the smell was overwhelming. As soon as they parked in front of Erin's apartment Jay jumped from the car.
"It's bath time for you buddy." Jay announced, leading the dog up the stairs. Jay took Alfie directly to the bathroom and pulled out the dog shampoo and towels they kept for bathing him. He ran the water to a comfortable temperature then got Alfie in the tub. The dog loved his baths. But at 50lbs already he was awkward to bathe and splashed around a lot. "Wait till he's full grown," Jay moaned to himself. Half way through lathering him up Jay was soaked and tossed his drenched shirt to the floor. "Guess I'm getting a shower too after I'm done with you." Jay chuckled at the dog.
Twenty minutes later Alfie was clean, dried and bushed down. Jay quickly showered himself and threw on some sweat pants. He was beat. The panic he'd felt when Alfie ran off had drained him. He knew the dog was affected by it too because he had refused to leave the bathroom when Jay showered and was now following close behind him as he made his way into the living room.
"It will be another hour before mommy gets home with dinner buddy, what do you want to do?" Jay asked the dog. On cue Alfie let out a big yawn. "I think that's the best idea you've had all day," Jay agreed. He flopped down on the couch and invited Alfie to join him.
"You had quite the scare this afternoon," Jay said, stroking Alfie's fur. "What was it about that guy that freaked you out so bad?" Jay inquired. Alfie just looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "Not much for talking things through hu? You get that from your mom too." Jay mused. He lay petting the dog and staring at the ceiling turning the situation over in his head until he fell asleep too.