Then he found the deaths. Too many young dogs of prime age. Sudden failures were blamed on genetics or stress. The explanations were thin, repeated almost word for word. Sam felt the anger rise slowly, heavy and controlled, the way it always did before the truth broke through.
Other dogs didn’t die. They disappeared. Perhaps through quiet resales or transfers to private buyers. Names removed from listings. Sam imagined them moving from place to place, bodies carrying damage no one wanted to acknowledge, once the performance dipped.