Oodles of Poodles Read Online Free PDF Page A

Maybe some of the white poodles were supposed to be her siblings. I’d understood that the scenes to be filmed here were to represent when the dog was still a fairly young puppy, just running away from an abusive situation.
    Taking my camera from my purse, I shot a few photos, shoving back an urge to take the dogs out for a walk. Or at least a hug. Maybe I’d get that chance later.
    “I saw the dog handlers walking this bunch just a few minutes ago, in case you were worried,” Niall assured me.
    I smiled up at him. “Guess you know me pretty well already, even though we were just introduced a few weeks ago.”
    “Dante’s told me about you.” He lifted a stringy hand as if to erase any complaints I might be ready to make. “All good things. He’s pretty proud of how you run HotRescues.”
    My smile grew even broader. That comment could make my day. Maybe my week. But not much longer than that. Especially now. I needed to spend more time at HotRescues than I was at the moment to make sure it continued to run so well.
    “I’m glad we’re in sync,” was all I said.
    We reached the end of the row of stores and stepped onto the sidewalk leading to the nearest street. There, I saw the people I most wanted to hang around with while I was here.
    Carlie was there, which surprised me. I’d thought she was going to send one of her veterinary staff today. She was talking with Winna Darrion, chief animal handler for the film. All underlings who exercised, walked, and fed the dogs reported to her.
    With them was Grant, as well as the primary dog trainer, Cowan.
    As Niall and I approached, I saw director Hans Marford coming from farther down the street.
    “I need to ask Hans a few things before he gets started,” Niall said. “I’ll talk to you later.” With his long legs he had no problem pulling way ahead of me toward his goal.
    I edged up to Carlie as the group moved to circle Hans for instructions on how the scene would work. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
    Today she was dressed more casually than yesterday, wearing slacks and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves. “The key vets I’d assigned to help here were otherwise engaged.” She didn’t sound pleased.
    “Doing what?”
    “One had a class already scheduled, and the others…well,you asked. Two older dogs were brought in last night with rather nasty cases of diarrhea. Been there, done that, so this time I directed the rest of my staff to administer tests, figure out the causes, and deal with it. That meant I’d be the one to come here to twiddle my thumbs and watch the filming. I assume it’ll all go well, as usual, especially with your buddy Grant observing for American Humane.”
    I felt my face turning red and I looked away from her. “He is a good, dedicated animal protector,” I said formally. “I wouldn’t exactly call him a buddy, though.”
    “Of course.” I tried not to react to the irony in Carlie’s voice.
    “Oh, and by the way, I brought my own filming crew.” She gestured to a couple of guys with cameras who stood behind us, talking. “I figured that since I was going to be here anyway, this was more material for my Pet Fitness show.”
    She had gotten prior permission to film from the studio execs in charge of Sheba’s Story . She’d had a crew there the first day we were on the set together but not after that. This filming on the streets could be more interesting for her show. Maybe she could even fill a whole episode with how this movie was being shot.
    Hans began speaking, and we edged forward to listen. I took a few pictures, and Carlie’s crew undoubtedly did, too. I noticed Carlie frowning. Good thing she wasn’t on camera. I supposed she thought Hans’s description might not go over well on her show, although it sounded okay to me. At least at first.
    Hans first explained what needed to happen. “In thisscene, Sheba, her mother, and sister and brother poodles are all taken captive by a nasty man who treats them badly