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I summarized events while I gently slid Esmerelda onto the makeshift backboard and tied her down with the long strips of fabric that Mabel cut.

“She hit me!” Stephen whined. “That’s assault. Are you going to arrest her? I’m a lawyer you know.”

“It was self-defense,” I said quickly. “He hurt her dog and she was in fear for her own safety. I saw the whole thing.”

“You’re under arrest,” one of the cops said, starting to read Stephen his Miranda rights.

“How can we help?” the other cop said.

“I’m going to take Esmerelda to the clinic,” I said, “Can you give us an escort so we don’t get stopped?”

“Absolutely.”

I carefully set Esmerelda on the back seat, pulling a seatbelt over the unconscious dog, and Mabel got in next to her, holding on to the backboard to keep it still on the seat. Taking a deep breath, I got into the driver’s seat and backed out of Mabel’s driveway. The cops had gotten Stephen into the back of the squad car by then, and they turned on their lights and escorted us to the vet hospital, rushing through all the intersections.

As I drove I asked Mabel to call the clinic.

“Tell them we have an emergency coming in,” I said, waiting for her to call. “We need them to clear the x-ray machine and the OR.”

I waited for her to explain what happened, then I added, “Tell them we need oxygen, IV anesthetic, and they should have some blood ready in case there’s internal bleeding and she needs a transfusion.”

Mabel made a choking sound but relayed the information.

I tore into the parking lot, glad to see Erica was there as well as Steve Jacobs, another doctor at the practice. They ran towards my car with a gurney, and we worked together to move Esmerelda out of the backseat.

We all race walked towards the entrance and I grabbed Mabel’s hand, pulling her along.

“Mabel honey, this could take a while. I don’t know how serious this is. If there’s internal bleeding or a spinal cord injury we will need to do emergency surgery, do you understand?”

“Of course,” she said. Her voice was shaky.

“I promise I will do my best to save Esmerelda. We all will.”

I looked up at Elaine who was watching us rush in the door.

“Elaine will set you up in the lounge and take care of you,” I said loud enough for Elaine to hear. “I’ll try to send out updates, but don’t freak out if you don’t hear anything for a while, okay? I need to focus on Esmerelda right now.”

“Okay.”

I met her gaze, then brought my hand up to cup her cheek for just a few seconds.

“Stay strong.”

Once I entered the treatment area, my entire focus was on Esmerelda. After I scrubbed my hands and pulled on some scrubs, Steve and I began our exam.

“There are contusions on the left hind leg,” Steve called to Erica, who input the information into the computer. “Based on the angle of the leg, there’s a fracture.”

“Let’s get a full body x-ray,” I ordered. “I want to check the spine and neck too. She hit that fence pretty hard.”

Just then Esmerelda started having a seizure. We sprang into action, administering the drug to stop the seizure, then slid her into the x-ray machine to get some pictures. She woke up just as we were bringing her out, immediately vomiting.

“Definite concussion,” I called to Erica.

“Noted.”

I looked down at the terrified dog, hoping she would recognize me in her current state.

“Esmerelda,” I said softly.