Chapter 475 The Reticent Dog
Saying that, Robert shot a glance at Catherine and the kids not far away before he shut up.
In tacit agreement, Luke also didn’t continue with this topic.
The next morning, Luke’s phone buzzed.
He glanced at the number, put down his tools and half-finished equipment, and answered the phone. “What’s up?”.
Selina said in a low voice, “Something’s wrong with Dollar.”
Luke: “Hm?”
“After we went to bed last night, he ate all the leftovers I brought back. He even opened the fridge and ate everything that was inside, and even got into the dustbin,” Selina explained quickly.
Luke narrowed his eyes. “How is he now?”
Selina smiled bitterly. “I don’t know. He looks fine to me, apart from the smell of food remains on him.”
After a brief silence, Luke said, “Why don’t we bring him back to L.A.? If anything happens, we can send him to a big pet hospital.”
Selina was startled. “What?” She had never thought of that.
Luke chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have him keep you company you in L.A.?”
Selina hesitated. “I’m worried that a plane will be too much for him; he’s so old.”
Luke said, “Then let’s drive back. He can take the backseat.”
Selina said, “Okay.” Luke said, “Keep an eye on him for the next two days.”
After that, the last two days of their break ended peacefully.
On the morning of their last day, Luke put on his backpack and went downstairs to say goodbye to his family, who had just gotten up.
Neither Robert nor Catherine said anything, but Claire and Joseph were reluctant to see him go.
Luke’s visit home this time was too short. Neither of the kids had played enough with him yet.
Smiling as he consoled them with a few words, Luke accepted the breakfast which Catherine had made and left.
Picking up Selina, he waved goodbye at Sandra, who was on the porch.
In the early morning, two people and one dog drove out of town.
On the road, Luke glanced at Dollar who was lying obediently in the backseat, and asked, “Dollar ate a lot. Don’t tell me he doesn’t poop?”
Blank-faced, Selina thought back for a moment before she said, “I… haven’t noticed.”
Thinking again, she said uncertainly, “I don’t think he pees often either.”
Dollar’s ears twitched, but it remained still.
Luke nodded and didn’t say more.
They drove northwest, and returned to their place in Los Angeles before nightfall.
Luke took Dollar to the basement the moment they got home.
The equipment which Luke used to monitor his and Selina’s physical health was in the basement. It could also be used on Dollar.
He wasn’t a vet, but he could still collect Dollar’s basic data and compare it with normal parameters.
The full checkup on Dollar was over very soon, and the dog licked Selina’s hand, a sign that it was hungry again.
“Is something wrong with him?” Selina asked worriedly.
Dollar had been a crazy glutton in the past two days.
At Luke’s reminder, Selina had quietly bought a lot of sheep’s milk and dog food to keep it fed.
On their way to Los Angeles, Dollar had polished off a huge barrel of sheep’s milk and one bag of dog food. Looking at the data, Luke shook his head. “Some data is a little abnormal, but his vital signs are steady.”
Or rather, too steady!
Dollar was a twelve-year-old dog, which was seventy years in human age; it was really unscientific for it to be so frisky.
Luke made a few calls and retrieved the files on police dogs from the police database. Comparing Dollar’s data with those on file, he said, “Take him upstairs. I still have things to do for a bit down here.”
Selina made a sound of acknowledgment and took Dollar with her, leaving Luke to continue working in the basement.
Selina reminded him midway via the communication device to go to bed early. Luke responded in agreement but kept working
At midnight, Luke rubbed his forehead.
Something was wrong with Dollar.
The dog wasn’t too sick; it was too healthy. Looking at the data again, he called Bobby and told the man to come over tomorrow.
Since the last time he returned to L.A., Bobby had yet to return to Boom Town.
Just nice, this animal tamer could check what was going on with Dollar.
After all, Bobby had been an animal tamer for more than ten years, and the animals he was most familiar with were dogs and chimpanzees.
He was very familiar with how to raise them since he had to train them, and he knew a fair bit about dogs.
Luke returned to the living room and went to Selina’s door.
In the doorway, Dollar opened an eye and glanced at him, before closing it again and going back to sleep.
Staring at the fellow for a moment, Luke sighed and hoped that it wasn’t anything bad.
He then turned around and went back to his own room to wash up and get some rest.
Dollar looked in his direction again before it shifted into a more comfortable position and continued sleeping. Bobby was at the door early the next morning
Luke, who had been expecting him, led him to the backyard and then called for Dollar.
“Take a look at him,” said Luke.
Bobby didn’t ask any questions.
He was already used to his boss’s erratic thinking.
Compared with inexplicably running into ghosts, examining a dog was nothing. It was his old profession to begin with.
Inspecting an obedient Dollar from head to toe, he looked at Luke and shook his head helplessly. “I don’t see a problem. It’s very healthy for a dog its age, and can easily live for several more years.”
Narrowing his eyes, Luke pondered for a moment before he said, “Try and communicate with him, like how you do with Doctor.”
Bobby’s face changed slightly. “About that…”
Luke said, “Try it.”
After hesitating for a moment, Bobby crouched down and held Dollar’s big head in place so that he could look it in the eye.
A moment later, he exclaimed in surprise.
Shaking his head, he stared at Dollar again, then stood up a moment later. “Boss, I can’t communicate with your dog.” Luke raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”
Choosing his words carefully, Bobby said, “I can sense a little of its emotions from its movements, but something’s blocking the “link.”
Luke understood what Bobby was saying: Dollar had emotions, but Bobby couldn’t perceive what they were with his Mental Communication.
He nodded slowly. “Okay, it’s fine. Thanks for taking the trouble to come over.” Bobby shook his head quickly. “It’s no trouble at all. I had nothing to do anyway.”
Luke thought for a moment before he asked, “Is Chris about to resume operations?”
Bobby nodded. “Yes. I’ve been meaning to call you these last two days. The FBI has already let Chris know that the mines can be reopened in three days.”
Luke looked at him and asked, “Then you can go over tomorrow and keep an eye on things. You’re okay with that, right?”
Stumped for a moment, Bobby then smiled. “I would be delighted.”
That was a gold mine, after all.
Luke had sent him there and told him that his job was to guard against anybody who had ideas about the mine.
His annual salary was almost a hundred thousand dollars, and Luke naturally was sending him there so that Bobby wasn’t earning this salary for nothing.
Thinking about his own shares in the gold mine, even if it was only a fraction, Bobby’s heart couldn’t help speeding up.