Animal Control arrived twenty minutes later, curious and cautious. They scanned the dog’s neck for a chip. But there was nothing. “No ID. No collar,” one said. “Probably a stray.” Elena turned from the monitors to say, “The police may need him. He can stay till they come,” she said softly. ” The man looked away. “Yeah. I guess he can.”
Someone muttered that dogs shouldn’t be allowed near the ICU. Elena didn’t look up. “He is staying by the glass,” she said. “Let him.” There was no room for argument in her tone. She’d seen hundreds of emergencies, but never one that arrived on four legs, soaked and panting, with so much devotion in its eyes.