"I know what I have to do," I said.
He got out, grabbing the gear, then let me out. He gave the hand signal for 'heel' and I did. "Good boy." He attached the leash to my collar, and put the service animal vest over my back, buckling it around my front legs. When he started walking towards the back yard, I stayed alongside him in a perfect heel. It had been drilled in to me, over and over, that I had to be gentle and well-behaved if she was going to accept me being around all the time. I took in the scents; most I didn't like, the stench of witchcraft around them. One, however, drew me like a magnet.
We rounded the back of the house and Larry stopped; I dropped into a sitting position at his side. Miriam and Talia were sitting cross-legged at the edge of the pond, and a ball of water a
