Anna turned. “Dr. Stalling.”
He tipped his hat. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“I have the day off from the hospital.” Anna, attempting to collect her thoughts, fidgeted with her purse.
“Did you come to watch them train?”
“I came to speak with you,” she said.
“Oh,” Stalling said, sounding surprised.
“Halt!” the supervisor shouted. He pulled down a trainer’s blindfold. “Don’t rely on your cane. Follow the dog’s lead.”
The trainer nodded. He fixed his blindfold and resumed his position beside his dog.
“Rolf Fleck is the supervisor,” Stalling said, lowering his voice. “He’s a bit rough on his trainers, but he has a stellar track record of producing top-notch ambulance dogs. I’m counting on him to do the same with guide dogs.”
Anna nodded.
“Why did you want to see me?” Stalling asked.
Her pulse quickened.Harbor your heart, she thought. “I’d like to work at the school.”
Stalling paused and rubbed his chin.
“I hope you do not view me as presumptuous,” Anna said. “If there isn’t a vacancy, I’d be honored to serve as a volunteer.”
“Are you unhappy at the hospital?” he asked.
“To the contrary, sir. I find it immensely rewarding to care for patients. But ever since that day in the hospital courtyard, when your dog guided the blind soldier around the garden, I can’t stop thinking about how grand it would be if every disabled veteran had a dog like yours.” She glanced to a shepherd, steering a trainer away from a puddle. “They’re like a prosthesis for their eyes and soul.”
“Indeed,” Stalling said. He removed his hat and held it to his chest. “I never properly thanked you for what you did that day in the garden.”
“I was only there to witness the event,” she said. “I’m sure you would have gotten the school started, whether I was there that day or not.”
“True, Fräulein Zeller,” Stalling said. “But you inspired me to expedite my timeline.”
Anna smiled.
The sound of clopping hooves compelled them to turn. Two horses, pulling a wagon that contained a driver and two shepherds, their snouts pointed skyward and sniffing the air, stopped at the building. The dogs jumped down from the wagon and wagged their tails, while the driver lifted a third dog, which was lying in the back of the wagon, and placed it on the ground. The dog hobbled, as if thorns were stuck in its paws, and then flopped onto its side.
You poor thing, Anna thought.
“Shepherds are in short supply,” Stalling said. “In addition to sourcing them from all over Germany, we’ll be attempting to retrain a few ambulance dogs, which are no longer able to perform their duties at the front.”
Anna nodded.
“You’re fortunate to find me here today,” he said. “I came to inform Fleck that the veterinarian, who was supposed to be assigned to the school, was sent to the army.”
Anna glanced at the trainer, frowning and scribbling on his clipboard.If he’s ill-tempered now,I wonder what he’ll be like when he learns that he’s lost a veterinarian.
“Are you certain you want to work here?” Stalling asked.
“Ja,” she said. “I haven’t trained dogs, but I think I could be helpful here.”
“You’re needed at the hospital,” Stalling said.
“I’m not as competent as the other nurses,” Anna said.
