Ch 11:
Most of the room headed out of the office and down the stairs. Roger offered to show them the dogs, as Anita had some paperwork to finish before the day ended. As they neared the front door, however, the pounding of feet came stampeding down the stairs.
"Anthony!" a girl squealed, racing down the stairs with a dog on her heels. Anthony barely had time to turn around before the girl was launching herself at him. Anthony appeared to be used to it, as he just held her up and spun her around, making her laugh. When he finally stopped spinning and put the girl down, Chloe got a good look at her.
She looked at least a couple years younger then Anthony and had the same strawberry-blonde hair as Anita and Anthony, and their fair skin, with Roger's bright blue eyes. Standing calmly at her side with a wagging tail was a black lab wearing a blue vest.
"Hey, Shortcake." Anthony grinned, ruffling the girl's hair and messing it up. She scowled and swatted at his hands, making him laugh.
"I rescind my hug. I didn't miss you in the slightest." she pouted, crossing her arms.
"Oh, so you didn't want me to see about picking you up a souvenir tomorrow at the festival?" Anthony smirked.
The girl's pout disappeared and she looked thoughtful for a second before pulling out what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes.
"Pleeeeaaase, best big brother in the world?" she begged, making her eyes big and sticking out her bottom lip.
Anthony snorted. "Yeah, yeah, cut that out. I'll try to get something tomorrow."
The girl beamed widely before glancing at everyone else in the room. When her eyes met Chloe's, her grin widened.
"Hi! You must be Chloe." she bounced forward and offered her hand, which Chloe shook. Anthony groaned quietly behind her. "I've heard aaalll about you." she went on, and Anthony covered his face with his hands. "I'm Aria, Anthony's younger sister. And this is Soot." she added, gesturing to the black lab next to her.
"It's nice to meet you." Chloe grinned, amused.
"I heard you're thinking of getting a service dog." Aria went on. "Soot's my service dog, I've had him for almost three years now. I have Epilepsy, so he's my seizure alert dog. What do you need a service dog for?"
"Okay, Aria." Roger cut in, stepping up and ruffling his daughter's hair like Anthony had earlier. "You should know better than to just ask someone that."
"I'm not judging her or anything, Dad." Aria argued, looking up at her father. "I have a service dog, too."
"Yes, I understand that. But you still know better." Roger smiled at her. "Now, I believe you still have some homework to finish this weekend. And we have some things to take care of. So, off you go." he ordered, ushering her back toward the stairs.
"Aaww!" she whined. "Fine. Bye Chloe! It was nice to meet you!" she called, hurrying up the stairs again, causing a few chuckles.
"So, what exactly has she heard about me?" Chloe asked, smirking slightly at Anthony, whose fair skin was flushed in embarrassment.
"Nothing much." Anthony mumbled, leading the way out the front door. "She probably just overheard Mom and me talking about you visiting."
Carlos snorted quietly, exchanging a smirk with Ben as they followed Anthony outside.
"Oh, Dad," Anthony started as Roger walked at his side, "Motley escaped her pen again, she greeted us when we got here."
Roger sighed. "I have no idea how she's been escaping. I'm thinking about putting up security cameras around the pen to try and catch her in the act."
"Are we sure she has what it takes to be a service dog?" Anthony asked dubiously. "I mean, what with her being an escape artist and all?"
"Well, part of me wonders the same thing, but she does have good instincts that I think would make her a natural." Roger admitted. "She got out again last week. I was in the basement working, and Anita was in the kitchen baking a pie. She was at the sink doing dishes when suddenly Motley hopped up in the kitchen window. Nearly gave Anita a heart attack." Roger chuckled. "She said Motley was just bouncing up and down in front of the window. Looked like a jackrabbit on sugar, were Anita's words."
"That sounds like Motley." Anthony laughed while the others all listened, all still making the trek around the house toward the other dog pen.
"So, Anita left the house, intending to put Motley back in her pen. But Motley wouldn't let Anita catch her and just lead her around the corner of the house. Anita followed her to the tire swing." Roger explained, gesturing to said tire swing hanging from a large tree next to the house. "She found Aria in the middle of a seizure. Soot was laying on her to keep her from hurting herself; Soot was barking, but Anita hadn't heard over all the other dogs. And Motley was sitting there watching, having just lead Anita to them."
Chloe gaped slightly at Roger's back, and even Anthony seemed surprised.
"That's…wow." Anthony muttered. "Well, I take back all my doubts about Motley." he decided, making Roger chuckle.
"Yes, but she still needs to stop escaping from her pen."
Several yards behind the house was a building that resembled the barn out front, but it looked newer, like it had been built in the last decade instead of renovated. There was a fenced in area behind the building just like the barn, also, with a few dogs running around and playing.
Roger reached the fence first and pushed open a gate, ordering the swarming pack of dogs to back up and let them all in. Chloe hesitated, but stuck close to Carlos as she slipped into pen. Ben closed the gate behind them.
The five dogs were excitedly bouncing around the people, a couple jumping up at the people for attention. Despite her nerves, Chloe smiled slightly at how cute a couple of the dogs were.
One dog ran up to her, making her flinch in surprise, only to look down at her feet. A Dalmatian had run up to her, dropped a ball by her shoes, and was now looking up at her excitedly.
"She just wants you to throw the ball." Anthony explained to Chloe, having just picked up another puppy.
Glancing at Anthony, and then at the Dalmatian, Chloe bent down and picked up the dirty tennis ball. She threw it to the other end of the pen, and the Dalmatian took off after it, barking excitedly.
Chloe had always thought Dalmatians all looked the same, after all how different could a white dog with black spots look from another one? But there were two Dalmatians in this pen, and it was easy to see the differences. One Dalmatian had big, blotchy spots, making it's black-to-white ratio look more fifty-fifty than most Dalmatians. But Motley, who Chloe recognized as the Dalmatian she was playing catch with, looked different.
Her left ear was black, her right ear was white with a couple small spots. She also had a black patch over her left eye, and the tip of her tail was black as if it was dipped in ink. And her spots varied in size, though most were smaller than a golf ball or ping pong ball.
Motley hurried back up to Chloe, dropping the ball and looking up at her, tail wagging so hard her whole back half was moving with it. Chloe couldn't help giggling quietly, picking up the ball and throwing it again.
Glancing around, Chloe saw Carlos and Ben petting another black and white dog, though this one looked very different from the Dalmatians, with fluffier fur and a tail that curled up over it's back. Anthony was sitting on the ground nearby, leaning back against the wall of the barn with a puppy in his lap. Glancing toward where Motley was racing toward the ball, Chloe went to sit on the ground next to Anthony.
"Motley likes you." Anthony teased as Chloe sat next to him.
Chloe blushed, holding her hand out to the puppy in his lap, who sniffed and licked at her fingers. "I'm sure it's just because I'm playing with her." she brushed it off.
Anthony hummed like he was pretending to agree before ruffling the fluffy dog's floppy ears. This dog was chunkier than Motley and the other dogs Chloe had seen, with downy fur that felt like a cloud. It was mostly white and brown, with a bit of black, a white stripe going from it's forehead, between it's eyes, and leaving it's nose and jaw white. It's paw was about the same size as Chloe's hand.
"This is Daisy." Anthony told her, lifting the puppy's paw to pretending to wave, making Chloe laugh. "She's almost four months old."
Chloe's head snapped up to stare at him before looking toward Motley, who had arrived and dropped the ball right into Chloe's lap. "But-but…you said Motley was eight months old. And they're almost the same size."
Anthony laughed. "Yeah. Daisy's a St. Bernard, they get pretty big. A full-grown St. Bernard can weigh more than 200lbs, while a full-grown Dalmatian usually won't even reach 100lbs."
Chloe gaped at him before looking down at the adorable, fluffy, adorable puppy in his lap. 200lbs?!
Before she could find words, Motley got impatient and picked up the ball from Chloe's lap only to drop it in her lap again. Chloe laughed, picking up the ball and throwing it again.
"So, can a dog that big really be a service dog?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah, St. Bernards and similar breeds are pretty common for service dogs. They're great with search and rescue work, and they're size is helpful for mobility service, like with someone who might need to brace against the dog to stand up. And they're known for being gentle and great with kids, so they're used as therapy dogs, or service dogs for kids with Autism."
"Wow." Chloe breathed, reaching out and scratching the puppy behind the ears. Daisy instantly rolled over in Anthony's lap, displaying her belly and making them laugh as they both started scratching her belly.
When Motley returned, she dropped the ball and laid down on the grass right in front of Chloe, rolling onto her back in a way similar to Daisy and resting her paw on Chloe's knee.
"Someone wants your attention." Anthony laughed.
Smiling, Chloe leaned forward and scratched Motley's spotted tummy. When she reached a soft, pink patch Motley started kicking one of her back legs, making Chloe and Anthony laugh again.
"So,…" Chloe spoke after their laughter had died down, "all that talk about service dogs the past couple weeks, and you never mentioned Aria having one." she noted casually.
Anthony sighed. "Yeah."
When he didn't continue, she glanced over at him. He was looking distractedly across the yard at some of the other dogs playing with Ben and Carlos. "She said she has seizures…Epilepsy. That Soot is her seizure alert dog? What exactly does that entail?"
"Well, we call Soot a seizure alert dog, he's more a seizure response dog. You can't really train a dog to alert their handler, that's more a natural ability some dogs have. Soot can sense when Aria is about to have a seizure, and he warns her by like pawing at her or something. Then she knows she needs to get somewhere safe, and lie down. It lessens the risk of her being in a crowd or collapsing to the floor and seizing. Soot is also trained to stay by Aria so she might be able to catch herself with him if she falls, and lay next to her to protect her head in a fall, or protect her in general, especially in a crowded area. He'll also bark to alert the family or anyone around. He can also bring Aria things she might need, like her medication or cell phone."
Chloe nodded. "Wow. That's incredible. Dogs truly are amazing." she commented, looking down at where she was still petting Motley's belly. The Dalmatian puppy's eyes were partially closed like she might fall asleep any moment.
"They are." Anthony agreed, smiling.
"So, is the Epilepsy the reason your parents don't want your sister to go to Auradon Prep?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Pretty much." Anthony nodded. "They never even considered sending her to Auradon Prep at all until recently. The thought of her being so far away, at a school where she'd basically be living alone other than a roommate…"
"I understand. That would be terrifying." Chloe agreed.
"But Soot has given her a bit more independence. So they're considering sending her to Auradon Prep for her freshman year, which is still almost a couple years away."
"You don't sound like you agree with that decision." Chloe noted, closely watching Anthony's expression.
He glanced at her and smiled ruefully. "Well,…I'm just worried about her. I mean, I'd be there during her freshman year, but then I'll graduate and she'll be there alone for the next three years. I wouldn't be there to keep an eye on her."
"She wouldn't be completely alone." Chloe pointed out. "I mean, there're the teachers, and she'll probably make friends by then, and me and Carlos would probably be there for a year before we graduate. And she'll have Soot."
Anthony nodded. "Yeah, I know. You're right. I just…I worry about what might happen even with Soot."
Chloe tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean? I mean, clearly she'll still have seizures, but-"
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean how ignorant people are about service dogs." Anthony explained. "There was a news story that came out a couple years ago. It didn't necessarily go viral, but it was a small town close enough to here that I heard about it. This girl was in a store with her service dog, and some person came up and started petting the dog without permission. The dog, like most service dogs, was wearing a vest that even said not to pet him. But some person petted the dog, distracting the dog so he missed the opportunity to warn his owner of an oncoming seizure. So, she collapsed and had a seizure. She hit her head on the ground because the dog wasn't prepared to help her down."
"All that happened because someone distracted her service dog?" Chloe murmured, horrified.
"And I'm worried something like that might happen to Aria." Anthony admitted. "You'd think it would be common sense, the dog has on a vest that says 'DO NOT PET', but I don't know. I guess some people just don't think, or don't understand how important those dogs are."
Chloe nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe someone could give a presentation, like Fairy Godmother, or maybe Tara. Just to inform people of the importance of service dogs?"
Anthony nodded. "Yeah, maybe. I suppose I could mention it. I know Tara's had a couple people ask to pet her dog, and she calmly explained why they couldn't. One person did it without asking and Tara went off on them." he admitted with a chuckle. "And now with you thinking about getting one, and Aria maybe coming to school in a couple years, that would put at least three service dogs in the school at one time. It wouldn't be a bad idea to make some educational presentation or something. I could mention it to Fairy Godmother or something. Or even Jordan. Maybe Jordan could do a story on it."
Chloe nodded but jumped slightly in surprise when Motley shifted her position, wiggling around on the grass until she could lay her head on Chloe's lap, atop her crossed ankles. She was still on her back, so she was looking up at Chloe's upside-down face. Her head with tilted slightly, her ears spread out like a bat, and her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. Chloe couldn't help laughing almost hysterically at the face the dog was making, reaching down to play with her floppy ears.
Getting this close, Chloe examined the details on the dog's face. She'd originally thought there was a black patch over Motley's left eye, but upon closer inspection it looked more like dozens of smaller dots so close together it was mistaken for one. It was the same for her left ear, there were so many smaller black spots on Motley's left ear that it looked completely black, but there were some small specks of white suggesting there were spots all packed together.
Motley turned her head and licked one of Chloe's hands, making her smile again.
"I see someone's made a friend." a voice commented, making Chloe glance up to see Roger had come to stand next to her, leaning against the fence.
"Oh, yeah." Chloe laughed slightly.
"Of course. She was Motley's BFF the moment she threw that ball." Anthony joked, making Chloe and Roger laugh.
"I'm sure it's more than just playing catch." Roger chuckled. "Chloe, why don't you try giving Motley a few commands? While it's great that she clearly likes you, we'd also need to make sure she responds to your commands. That is, if you decide to go through with everything."
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, of course."
She stood up, as did Anthony after he set Daisy on the ground. Anthony went into the barn and came back out with a handful of small treats.
"Now, Motley is trained on most of the basic commands. She's been trained on Sit, Stay, Down, Come, Off, and Heel. And somewhere along the way she picked up Shake, as you saw before." Anthony explained, passing the treats over to Chloe's hands. "Just try a few out, make sure to be firm when you talk to her, but not too harsh."
Chloe nodded drinking in Anthony's suggestions intently before turning to Motley, who was intently staring at the treats in Chloe's hands.
"Sit." Chloe commanded firmly.
Motley sat, her attention firmly on Chloe. Smiling, Chloe gave Motley one of the treats. Meanwhile, Carlos and Ben had wandered over to watch. Chloe glanced at Anthony.
"Good. And if you want, you can reward her in ways other than treats. As you've seen, she loves getting her ears scratched, or just praise her or something." Chloe nodded at Anthony's suggestion.
"Um, down." Chloe commanded after a moment of thought. Motley laid down, looking up at her. Chloe smiled. "Good girl." Chloe praised, giving Motley a treat and scratching her ear.
With Anthony's help, Chloe ran through some more commands with Motley; ordering her to stay, and then come, and having her walk on heel, which basically meant Motley walked at Chloe's side.
Overall, the experience went very well, and Chloe felt a bit more confident interacting with Motley and the other dogs. But the afternoon was drawing to a close and the teenagers needed to get back to the school, so they said their goodbyes and headed out, giving Chloe plenty of information and time to make a decision.
AN: Well, we got to know Motley a little more, and Chloe met Anthony's sister and learned more about her. What does everyone think of Aria having a service dog?
Fun fact: Aria's service dog, Soot, was named in reference to the black lab in 101 Dalmatians, in the scene where all the Dalmatians rolled in soot to sneak past Cruella. When picking a breed for Aria's service dog I wanted to get her something other than a Dalmatian.
Review and let me know what you all thought of this chapter! Thanks!