Gaits of Heaven

“Stunning!”
    Maintaining her grip on Lady’s collar, she rose to her feet and opened Sammy’s crate. He came bounding out. While Anita’s attention was diverted, I closed the van door to prevent the dogs from escaping. The van was now crowded. The five crates occupied a fair amount of space; there’d been just enough room for Anita, Lady, and me. The addition of Sammy squished us together. The confinement made me a little claustrophobic; in every way, I needed room to maneuver, and here I was, squeezed against the back of the passenger seat with no way to get between Anita and the dogs. I could’ve moved to the front of the van,, and I could even have slid open the door and stepped out, but what about Lady and Sammy? I couldn’t abandon them to a madwoman, especially to a madwoman who, when sane, hated dogs as fiercely as Anita did. Everything about her was strange and driven and frighteningly unpredictable. What if she kicked Lady? What if she somehow provoked Sammy and then accused him of attacking her? What if she...?
    Damn! What if Rowdy were here instead of Sammy! For all his exuberance and playfulness, Rowdy was a mature, well-trained dog. As Phyllis had said of her beloved Monty, he was defined. Furthermore, Rowdy was a certified therapy dog. If it somehow became expedient for me to give a hand signal, Rowdy would understand and obey it. On visits to nursing homes, he’d become accustomed to erratic behavior. He’d take Anita’s frenzied manner in stride. If she snatched at his ears, shoved against him, or even fell on him, Rowdy would remain calm while accurately assessing the situation and doing his cool best to protect Lady and me. But Sammy? Sweet, rambunctious, baby-brained Sammy? I didn’t know.
    In fact, Sammy surprised me: gently shoving his way between Anita and Lady, he used his massive body to create a protective barrier between the menace and her probable victim. Did Sammy know that Anita would then let go of Lady’s collar? Kimi would have predicted the result; if malamute chess ever catches on, she’ll be a grand master. Sammy, I thought, lacked her capacity to foresee the result of each move. Still, Lady was now free. Better yet, she was on my side of Sammy and out of Anita’s immediate range.
    Totally misinterpreting Sammy’s shove, Anita cried, “You see? He knows I’m beautiful. All creatures respond to astounding physical perfection.”
    The more fools they , I thought. Then I reconsidered. What about my own reaction to the beauty of dogs and especially to the physical perfection of my own? But at the moment, Sammy’s stunning appearance was the least of his virtues. As Anita fixed him with an unblinking stare, I unobtrusively reached into my pocket, extracted a leash, and snapped it onto Lady’s collar. One dog under my control! One dog safe from escape and thus safe from traffic. If I could get a leash on Sammy, I could slide open the door, and the dogs and I could bolt. Lady was now pressed hard against me, her entire body vibrating with fear. I had to get her out. I’d been carrying only one leash. A half dozen others hung from pegs at the rear of the van, beyond the crates, beyond Anita, hopelessly far away.
    Sammy had distracted Anita. In the hope of doing the same and with the dim hope of making Anita decide to leave, I said, “Anita, is there some reason you’re at Ted Green’s house? What made you come here?”
    Kimi might have predicted Anita’s reaction. I’m not Kimi; I didn’t. Far from being harmlessly distracted, Anita abruptly shifted from euphoria to rage. She was talking so fast that I missed most of what she said. One word that I did catch was kickbacks. Her attitude to Sammy changed with her mood. “Get off!” she yelled. “Get off!” She bent down. I couldn’t imagine why she’d want to grab his feet.
    The last time I’d spoken, Anita had reacted so wildly that I was afraid to speak aloud. Instead of calling Sammy, I silently patted my thigh. He took one step toward me. If he’d only move next to me, I could transfer the leash from Lady’s collar to his, hold Lady by her collar, and get the three of us out of this increasingly hellish van. If need be, I’d hold Sammy by his collar alone, but I was far from sure that I’d have the strength to maintain my grip if he took a dive out of the van, as he’d be likely to do. As I was trying to work out a plan either to get both dogs back in their crates, or to coax Lady to exit first so I