But then, a bark. Faint. Distant. Hope surged through him like a wave. “Lola!” he shouted, spinning toward the sound. Another bark, clearer this time, carried through the bushes. He ran, stumbling across uneven grass, calling her name again and again, following the voice like it was a lifeline.
The sound grew stronger until he stopped at a thick tangle of shrubs near the far end of the lawn. Carefully, he parted the branches—and there she was. Behind the cover, curled in the dry leaves, lay Lola—tired, but alert, and flanked by two tiny pups nursing quietly by her side.