Meanwhile, alongside all this legal procedure, Copper had surgery. The amputation was on a Tuesday. Rachel stayed at the clinic all day and brought him home that evening in a borrowed crate, too large for her car but loaned by Dr. Singh’s clinic without being asked. Copper was groggy and confused. She slept on the floor next to him the first three nights.
His recovery was slow and then suddenly fast. By the second week, he was figuring out the three-legged walk — uncertain at first, then increasingly sure. He wagged his tail on day eleven. She photographed it and sent it to Priya. The chemotherapy started the following week. It was hard on him. Some days she sat on the floor and talked to him while he rested, not about anything in particular, just so he could hear her voice.
The civil settlement came six weeks later. The amount covered Copper’s surgery and chemotherapy in full, with a little left over. Dr. Harmon’s clinic did not issue an apology. Rachel had stopped expecting one. The money wasn’t the point, but the fact that they paid it confirmed their mistake.