Brantley and Lila Jane have been married 5 years. She had made him wake up and stop the drinking and bullshit. Currently on tour for the Bring It Outside album see what a year in the life of the Gilbert's is like.
Brantley watched his wife's face as the last dog came through the door. He sighed and ran a hand down his face with a smile. Of all the dogs, he shouldn't be surprised she would choose this one.
"Now, this is Hunter. He's a Miniature Australian Shepard. He's not a breed we usually work with, but he showed such talent that we made an exception."
Lila Jane slid from her chair to the floor to see him closer. He pulled from his handler and ran straight to her. Sam seemed shocked, "He usually listens so well." She said surprised. Brantley chuckled, "It ain't his fault, my wife tends to have that effect on people, so why not dogs." He watched as she cradled the dog in her arms kissing his muzzle and talked to him.
"I'm guessing this is him?" Brantley asked though he knew the answer. Two sets of eyes looked at him, one mismatched. "His name is Hunter Ulysses Gilbert." She said seriously looking at him. "Umm, Ulysses?" Sam asked in a questioning tone. Brantley sighed, "That's her grandfather's name." He explained. "It also makes his initials H.U.G.!" She said excited.
"He's gonna be my Hunter Huggy Bear." She said in a baby voice. Brantley could already see the money flying out of their account for the newest member of the family. "Well, I can see we obviously have a perfect match here. I'm glad that he is going to such a great home. I'll just go grab the papers for his permits and such." She said leaving to get his paperwork.
Brantley suddenly had a dog in his face.
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"And that's Big Daddy, he takes care of us. He's the one you tell if mommy is sick." She said, damned if the dog didn't seem to understand. She put him on the ground near Brantley and waited to see what would happen. He immediately laid down at his feet and looked up at him with those eyes.
"Lord help me, now there's two of you." He couldn't ignore the look on this puppy any more than he could Lila. He picked him up and looked him eye to eye. "Now listen, you're a Gilbert now. That means I'm the boss of you." He ignored his wife's scoff. "We keep that clear and you and me will get along just fine. You let me know when that crazy woman is getting sick."
Hunter liked his nose in seeming agreement. "Good deal." He said putting him back in his mama's arms. "You did so good, baby boy." Lila Jane praised him. "You got daddy under your paw." She giggles kissing his head. He knew he was in trouble when he growled and neither looked at him. "Lord give me strength." He muttered.
"He says that a lot." She explained to the dog. "We have to get you a bed before we go back!" She exclaimed. And so it begins, he thought with an indulgent smile. They had enough money that she could buy him a pet store if she wanted and it wouldn't do much harm. So if buying this little man a bunch of shit made her happy he would shut up and push the cart.
Sam came back in and they spent the next few hours signing papers and getting some training in how Hunter worked and what his signals were. Hand nudges for low and a single bark for high worked well for them. Happy with their progress Sam let them take Hunter with them that night.
She promised to mail in all the proper paperwork and gave them a temporary license for him. Lila Jane had a good idea of how much her baby would cost. So she knew that the $20,000 check that Brantley wrote from their personal account was more than double what he would cost. She watched in pride as he handed the check over to Sam.
"Mr. Gilbert, this is.." "That is a fraction of what Hunter is worth to me. He is going to keep my babygirl from living in fear and let her have independence. So I want you to take that check and make sure that as many others as possible get dogs just like him." He said handing the checkbook back to Lila to put in her purse.
"This means a lot to us here, thank you Mr. Gilbert." She said tearfully, thinking of all they could do with this money at the center. "Would it be ok with you if we made a Brantley and Lila Jane Gilbert fund for a few families that aren't covered?" Brantley grinned. "You are a smart lady, I like that. Tell you what, take this." He said handing her a business card from his wallet. "Tell them BG gave you the number and I'll have a fund set up so that fund of yours can become permanent. That's my accountant that works with my Wounded Warriors charity accounts and I'm going to speak to her about opening one for the ASD as soon as we can."
"That's an amazing idea, baby." Lila Jane said to him looking at him like he hung the moon. He just hoped he always lived up to her expectations. Sam seemed speechless, it was Lila Jane's turn to explain. "Ya, he does that to people. Leaves you shocked, happy, and excited." She said with a wink.
Considering their work done they left the building around 9pm feeling amazing. PJ loved the newest member of his crew and laughed when he gave him puppy eyes. "Good Lord, BG! She found herself in dog form!" "Tell me about it, brother." He said with a laugh. "Y'all stop being mean to me and my Huggy." She said covering his ears.
PJ looked at Brantley in question. "Don't ask." He advised shaking his head. "Got it." PJ nodded opening the door for them. "Back to the busses?" He asked looking in the rear view. "To the pet store!" Lila Jane called excited. "Hunter needs a bed and bowls and food and..." She continued for most of the ride.
PJ and Brantley shared an amused look in the mirror. Their girl was happy and safe, they couldn't be happier.
