Cole frowned. “Why?”

The vet took a breath. “The owner was in an accident two nights ago. He didn’t make it.”

Cole’s jaw clenched. “And the dog?”

“They never found him… until now.”

He stared through the clinic window, at the dog lying on the table, its tail twitching faintly.

“Then I guess,” he whispered, “I found him for a reason.”

Cole couldn’t leave.

He waited at the clinic until sunset. The vet, Dr. Harlow, brought him a cup of coffee. “He’ll recover. You saved his life.”

Cole nodded, staring at the golden retriever sleeping under a heat lamp. “He doesn’t even know he’s lost everything.”

Dr. Harlow hesitated. “The man who owned him — Captain Harris — he was a retired soldier. That dog was his therapy partner. They went everywhere together.”