Rescued

By Ellen Gilman

I saved a dog's life today— Her name is Mollie. 
She's this black and white four year old healthy sheltie with a heart-shaped face and sorrowful brown eyes.
 Her owner's no longer want her. They've left her at the vet to be euthanized.
How does anyone do that? What could possibly be wrong with her?
I have a horrible feeling she's terrified of everyone and everything.
I can't change her past.
I have to help her—teach her to trust and love.
Following Mollie's death as a tribute to her we continued to rescue needy shelties. Rescued is the story of Mollie and the five shelties who followed in her path and found a loving home with us

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9798350952988

Ellen Gilman

Ellen Gilman is a graduate of the University of Maryland where she earned her degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught kindergarten for four years before retiring to raise her two boys. She returned to the workforce once her kids were in school and enjoyed a ten year stint at Saks Fifth Avenue until the store closed. Her next job was assisting her husband in their family's building supply business, and with her free time she began her writing career with Mollie's Tail a tribute to an amazing sheltie the family rescued. Rescued is a follow-up to Mollie's Tail. Since Mollie's Tail Ellen has written a series of three contemporary fiction novels that take place in a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The last one Mutts Murder and Mayhem, a cozy mystery, was published in October 2023. Rescued, her newest novella, is a follow-up to Mollie's Tail. It is a heartwarming personal story of the six shelties her family rescued over many years starting with Mollie. Ellen resides in Owings Mills Maryland with her husband, one sheltie, and two rough collies. You can find her at Starbucks writing her next novel. Please visit her on Facebook or check out her website www.ellengilman.com

Book preview

PART ONE

Chapter One

April 2023

It’s early morning. Our three dogs are snoozing nearby, so I’m going to use this opportunity to sit at my desk and scribble some notes for a rewrite of my first book, Mollie’s Tail.

I am an old woman now. Often my thoughts wander to the many treasured moments I have amassed over the years. So allow an old woman to reminisce. I promise this is a story worth reading.

To my left I have photos that capture some special memories for me. One is of both my boys, taken years ago. One is of me and Steven, my husband, getting ready to go to a party, and several photos are of some of the dogs in our lives.

Mollie’s photo, which I keep in the front, stands out and captures my attention. I gaze at her picture. She was the first dog we rescued. This particular photo of her lying with her head resting on her snowy white paws captures her perfectly.

I smile. She sat like that always, her enormous dark brown eyes staring out at the world.

To me, she looks sad, although her relaxed position tells me she was content when the photo was taken.

Often I wish I could hug her just one more time—tell her she lives on forever in my heart.

I’m trying to figure out how to tell you her story, which I think you will want to read. To start at the beginning seems best. Certain days and events are crystal clear, even down to the conversations. Here goes.

Chapter Two

March 1986

It was time for my favorite TV show, Cheers, to start. I plopped down on the small sofa in our den, tucking my legs under me, and faced the TV. I tapped the sofa and called for our very old sheltie, Mister, to come sit with me.

My husband, Steven, was in his small office, the size of a walk-in closet, that adjoins the den with an open doorway. It may be small, but it’s cozy and has a large window that looks outside to the woods surrounding our home.

I had just reached out for the plaid blanket behind Mister to cover him when the phone rang. Darn. I really don’t want to miss my show.

I picked up the receiver and said, Hello.

Hi! It’s Laura. She didn’t need to say who it was. I recognized her high pitched voice immediately. It was my veterinarian.

As soon as I heard her voice, I wondered why she was calling me. It was strange as usually I would be calling her.

I waited to hear what she had to say.

One of my clients brought their four-year-old sheltie to the office today to be euthanized.

Somewhere in my brain I had an inkling of where this conversation might be headed. Certainly Laura had a motive for telling me this. I clutched the phone and waited to see if my thoughts were correct.

They don’t want her anymore.

As Laura explained, I could hear her loud sigh through the phone, and knowing her well, I visualized her flinging her perfectly long, straight, shiny black hair back and forth while shaking her head. If I could have seen her large brown eyes, I’m sure they would have looked troubled.

She continued in a clipped tone. They complained she doesn’t listen to them. They’ve had her since she was a puppy, and even my best efforts to help them train her have failed. They have no good reason to put her to sleep. She sighed again. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Mollie. That’s her name, by the way.

What Laura said made my stomach do somersaults. It was not only unbelievable, it was totally unacceptable. I gripped the phone so tightly my fingers ached. I knew there was still more to this conversation.

Laura carried on. I’m hoping to save her, she said, and in her usual flippant tone she added, by having you adopt her.

Me? I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Even though I had suspected this was coming, I still had to catch my breath.

Yes, you! You used to have two shelties, so why not again?

I took a deep breath, sat back, and closed my eyes, my thoughts spinning. Yes, I love dogs. I’d certainly enjoy having two dogs again, but in April I would be starting a full-time management job for a large retailer. I knew I’d be working more hours than I’d ever worked previously.

I was nervous about this since my kids were nine and twelve and still needed me to be around. Plus we had Mister, our very old sheltie who was having physical problems.

I quickly decided that getting another dog would a bad idea even though I realized Laura would be extremely disappointed with me.

Laura, this is not a good time. I shook my head and told her about my new job and why I couldn’t take Mollie.

There was a moment of silence. I hoped Laura would understand. I was wrong. She abruptly ended the call with a sharp, Bye.

Crap! I’d expected her to be upset, but from the tone of her voice she was angrier than I had anticipated.

We’d been friends since we were in first grade together. Even back then, I loved dogs, and she knew it. My family hadn’t had a dog, but she’d had a cute white mutt I’d loved to pet.

My reasons for saying no wouldn’t cut it for Laura.

My stomach knotted up. I tried to tell myself I should just take Mollie, especially given her current situation, but I was afraid I wouldn’t have time for her, especially if she needed extra attention. Besides, I couldn’t possibly be the only person Laura would contact. Right?

Laura was an advocate for animals. She took in all the unwanted ones. At last count, she had at least seven birds, three dogs, four cats, and one guinea pig. Being a veterinarian suited her perfectly.

I was staring into space, replaying my conversation with her, when Steven walked out of his office and questioned me about the phone call. I explained. He had no comment, which was unusual. Was he thinking I should have said yes?

I didn’t want to know. I had already made my decision and wanted to stick with it.

An hour or so later, we headed off to bed. Mister followed us and lay on the floor beside us.

It was no surprise that I spent most of the night lying awake, tossing and turning. I kept replaying Laura’s phone call in my mind and wondering what Mollie’s fate would be.

Chapter Three

It was almost seven-thirty when I rolled out of bed the next morning, so I had to rush to make sure our two boys ate breakfast and got out the door in time to catch the school bus. Andrew, who was twelve, and Michael, who was nine, tended to dawdle in the hope of getting out of going to school, so I had to keep them on track.

I practically pushed them out the door with no time to spare. I wanted to feed Mister and take him outside. Sometimes this was easy, but not always. His legs sometimes gave out on him, so I would stand nearby ready to prop him up if he started to fall.

I had plenty of time to spend with him, which was a nice way to spend my last few weeks with nothing much to do before training started for my new job. My only commitment that day was a dentist appointment at ten-thirty.

I toasted a piece of bread and sat down to read the local newspaper. Once I finished, I headed off to shower and to change into jeans and a sweatshirt. When I was done I glanced at the clock. It was still too early to head out to the dentist. A few minutes of spare time can be a good or bad thing, and in this instance I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go see Mollie.

I took a deep breath. I had no idea what my seeing her would accomplish. I still had no intention of adopting her.

Was I feeling guilty for turning Laura down without even checking Mollie out? You bet!

Maybe Laura would forgive me if I saw her in person and