to go.
Before they left, she held the dog’s face between her hands and whispered something into his ear.
Henry never learned what she said.
At the academy, a young trainer came outside and took the leash.
Bear resisted.
For the first time in his life, he pulled backward.
He looked at Henry.
Whined.
Henry knelt in the gravel.
“Go on, boy.”
His voice cracked.
“Go help people. That’s what she wants.”
Before standing, Henry took an old brown leather collar from his pocket.
Bear had worn it since puppyhood.
