Anna swallowed. “This is Emmi Bauer.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Emmi said.
Fleck nodded.
“Emmi’s the finest nurse at the hospital,” Anna said. “She’s willing to work here.”
Fleck looked at Emmi. “Did she tell you about the pay and the potential need for you to board veterans?”
“Ja,” Emmi said.
Anna’s eyes drifted to Nia’s stall, but she couldn’t see her. She hoped that she was standing.
“Did Dr. Stalling arrange for both of you to transfer from the hospital to the school?” he asked.
“He has,” Anna said.
“Follow me,” Fleck said. He approached a series of wooden stalls and pointed, using his clipboard. “One at a time, you will attach a leash to a dog, and then take it—individually—to relieve itself. There is a section of grass behind the barn that is marked.”
“Okay,” Anna said, noticing that several additional dogs had been delivered, all of which were standing in their stalls and wagging their tails. She glanced to Nia’s pen and her heart sank. Nia, her chest slowly rising and falling, was on her side, in the same position where Anna had left her.
Fleck looked at Anna. “You may tend to her later, when the other dogs are training.”
“Ja, sir,” Anna said, dreading the time that would need to pass before she could go to Nia’s aid.
“After all the dogs have relieved themselves,” Fleck said, “you will feed them and give them fresh water. The bowls are in each of their pens. There is a bin of feed, of which you will give them precisely one level scoop. It will be more efficient if one pumps the water from the well, and the other carries the filled buckets to their bowls.”
Emmi nodded.
“Thirty minutes after they have eaten, take them outside again—individually—to relieve themselves. Then attach a harness to each of the dogs.” He pointed to a row of harnesses with an attached handle. “You will be shuttling dogs to trainers on the obstacle course. While the men are working with them, you will clean pens and scoop droppings in the yard.”
A foreboding knot tightened in Anna’s gut. She glanced to Emmi, who was staring into a pen.
“Between shuttling dogs to trainers and cleaning pens, you will provide medical and hygiene care for the dogs who are not working. I’ll have a trainer instruct you on how to properly cut their nails.”
“Will you—” Anna swallowed and clasped her hands. “Will you need our help with training the dogs?”
Fleck furrowed his brows. “Nein.”
Anna swallowed. “I thought that our duties might include—”
“You were mistaken,” he interrupted. “Have the dogs ready for when the trainers arrive.” Fleck turned, his boots scraping over the ground, and left the building.
I’m such a fool, Anna thought.
Emmi retrieved a leash.
“Emmi,” Anna said. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” Emmi asked.
“I thought our work might include training dogs,” Anna said, her words sounding a bit absurd said aloud. “Are you upset with me?”
“Of course not.” Emmi placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Based on Ewald’s stories of ambulance dogs, I assumed that guide dogs would be trained by military veterans. Also, I thought I could do this job because it would be similar to the role of a nurse.”
“How so?” Anna asked, relieved that Emmi was not disappointed in her.
“It is the physicians who perform surgery and decide if a limb needs to be amputated. We, as nurses, clean the wound, feed the infirm, and change the bedpans.”
