lifted their heads up, trying to keep a strong-willed attitude as the trio of dogs began quietly stepping on the wooden stairs and through the dog door on the lower part of the main entrance.

The waiting room was half-empty, filled with a couple of parent-child groups awaiting their chance to see the doctor or one of his assistant nurses for their regular check-ups. However, one small group of people caught the wolf-dog and the she-husky’s eyes. A young couple in their early-thirties and their little girl of about seven years of age were sitting at the closest bench to the doctor’s main operating room, quietly weeping and holding each other close as they tried to comfort each other. 

That’s . . . that must be Saba’s human family, Dingo thought. He was the first to be adopted all those months ago, so he had no idea what her owners looked like; but by observing the actions of the little girl in the mother’s arms, he knew that she had to be Saba’s human.

“Why, Mama?” the girl sniffled and looked up to her mother who was holding her daughter on her knees. She moved her short raven hair away from her eyes as she dried her dark eyes with a long piece of a baby pink scarf that she had in her pocket. “Why did someone shoot my doggie?” 

Dingo’s heart seemed to break when he heard the words. No . . . Saba was shot? It . . . it’s impossible! Not Saba . . . Why would someone do such a thing to her?

“It can’t be . . .” he murmured under his breath. His ears lowered in sadness as his parents watched his reaction. Jenna again resumed her crying as she and Balto approached their son to comfort him. 

“I don’t know, sweetie,” the girl’s mother answered her, placing the girl’s head near her chest and stroking the back of her head to try and calm the daughter’s tears. “I just don’t know.” Now she and her husband were in tears with the daughter. “The doctor should be finished soon, and then we will see if Sara makes it through.”

Sara . . . ? Dingo thought again; the sound of his sister’s given name reverberated through his mind’s ear. So that’s what her new name is. It sounds like ‘Saba’ and is just as beautiful to the ears . . . He shut his eyes tightly, praying for his sister to be okay. Please, Saba . . . Please pull through . . . I don’t know what I can do without you . . . 

After a moment of silence, he began to whine in his parents’ direction. “How did she get shot, Dad?” He was on the verge of tears, but he refused to cry in front of his parents or Saba’s humans. “Why would someone shoot a normal-looking husky, especially a harmless one like Saba? She wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

Balto’s ears pricked up and began to fall back to his neck in shame. “I saw what happened, Dingo.” He turned to his mate, silently requesting her to give them a moment alone to discuss what happened to Saba. As soon as the emotional she-husky was a safe distance away, the wolf-dog continued to speak of the incident. 

“It was yesterday when it happened, about early afternoon to be precise. I was happily watching her from the boat; she was chasing a rabbit into the woods from outside of town, playfully attempting to pounce on it. I sniffed the air carefully, recognizing her scent in the air, but hers wasn’t the only one I smelt. A wolf was in the nearby area, and Saba probably didn’t realize how deep into the wolf’s territory she was. I leaped from the boat and ran quickly into the forest, hoping that I could warn her in time, but it was too late.”

“She was already shot?” Dingo asked, his brown eyes growing large in shock of his father’s words. 

“No, she was still okay at the time, but the wolf had discovered her once I arrived,” Balto reassured him, then he continued the story. “He was a large dark-gray wolf, about twice the size of me, and he towered over the shrinking form of Saba. The lupine asked her why she was there, and she honestly told him she was chasing a rabbit and would leave his territory right away after apologizing. However, the wolf refused to believe a tame husky like her and yanked off the pink cloth scarf from her neck. I was about to move in to protect her from the wolf’s fury, but I stayed back.”

“Why, Dad?” Dingo asked, his ears pressed against his neck in anger. “You could have protected her! She’s your daughter too!” 

Balto let out a sigh. “I could see the fire burning in her eyes, just like the ones in your eyes right now, and that glare that Saba gave him was enough for me to trust her judgment; she was furious as she leapt to her feet and defended herself without my help.” He paused for a second, letting out a light chuckle as his daughter’s actions replayed in his mind, but then he continued speaking in his serious tone. “Surprisingly, she was a much stronger fighter than what I would have thought; I suppose that scarf that her human had given her was something so precious to her that Saba considered the wolf’s actions as a severe threat to her family and everyone that she loved. They growled and snarled at each other, sometimes swiping their clawed paws at each other and baring their teeth as they fought. Suddenly, it happened.

“A hunter was nearby, unknown to all three of us. He was carefully watching the husky and wolf duke it out as he aimed his rifle for the wolf, but by the time he pulled the trigger and the shot rang out, it was Saba that took the hit.” Dingo gasped, his mouth opened in shock. “She collapsed onto the ground as the wolf quickly fled the scene. The hunter also left the scene, but I guess he went to get help for her because he was ashamed by his misjudgment. I approached her body, praying that she wasn’t dead by the hunter’s bullet; thankfully, her heart was slowly beating, but her breathing was beginning to weaken. Blood was trickling down from her head, staining her white face crimson. Moments later, I could sense that other humans were coming, so I fled the scene before anyone thought I had committed the crime and ran straight to Jenna’s to take her to the doctor’s.” He paused to catch his breath, then concluded. “She’s been in surgery ever since to try and remove the bullet from her head, but they . . .” The hybrid couldn’t stop his tears from escaping, sniffling and sobbing whenever he paused for a moment. “the doctor says that . . . it’s possible . . . she may not make it through . . .” 

Dingo was taken aback, stunned by the news. “No . . .” He shook his head slowly as a thin stream of tears fell from his eyes down the sides of his face. “No . . . I can’t lose Saba! She’s my friend, my sister, my –” He quickly caught himself and only drooped his head between his forelegs. His tears turned from a trickle to a wider stream of salty water. “Oh, she can’t die, Dad! She’s just can’t!”

“Oh, Dingo,” His mother trotted up to her son, joining his crying with her own. “Shh-shh, it’s all right, love. There, there . . .” Jenna stroked the weeping child, calming him with her muzzle, but the tears continued to pour from both Mother and Son. 

“There’s gotta be something we can do for Saba . . .” The nearly year old husky wept tears of sorrow that drenched his paws and the floor underneath him. “There has to be something, Dad . . .”

“It’s out of our hands, Dingo,” The wolf-dog spoke with a heavy heart. “I’m sorry . . . If only there were something else we could do –” Balto’s ears suddenly pricked up to the sound of the clicking of an opening wooden door of the doctor’s operating room. The three humans and the other two dogs turned their attention to the white-haired physician as he emerged from the room, but stood at the entrance. 

“Ma’am, Sir,” the doctor turned his attention to the black-haired girl’s parents. “May I speak with you two for a moment in private?” The two adults placed their daughter on her two feet, allowing her to walk towards the nearby canines and hug her dog’s parents and brother for comfort. “It’ll only be for a moment.”

The three adults walked inside the operating room with the doctor closing the door behind them. Dingo walked quietly towards the door to try and eavesdrop on the humans’ conversation, placing his ear against the wooden door. 

“ . . . surgery was long and strenuous, but it was a success.” He recognized the gruff voice of the doctor. “She’s still unconscious, but she’ll awaken within an hour or so.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” The girl’s mother. “Marilyn will be glad to know that Sara’s okay.” 

“You just don’t know how happy we are for your help, Doctor.” The girl’s father. “Thank you so much!”

“But there’s something that may affect her future that you should know about,” The doctor spoke again, this time with a hint of seriousness in his tone. “While operating, I noticed that the bullet that struck her in an area of her brain that controls her memory.” He paused for a second, allowing a sigh to escape his lips. “I’m sorry, but as a doctor, as well as a surgeon, I only did what I had to do in order to keep her alive. I mean, if it hit had her somewhere else, we may have lost her altogether . . . or perhaps her memory would have been spared . . .” 

Dingo gasped as he ran from the door, his sadness spilling from his eyes with the tears that he had held back for so long.

She’s alive . . . but it’s not worth it if she can’t remember me . . . He passed by his parents and Saba’s human without even stopping to acknowledge them. No . . . NO! She can’t be gone . . . she can’t be . . . She can’t be! 

Once he got outside, he collapsed onto the porch of the office, feeling like he should drown himself in his tears.

Saba . . . Saba, no . . . You can’t be gone . . . 

If it’s true . . . that you really have lost your memories, then . . . then it’s almost like you’re really dead . . .

He covered his tear-stained face with one of his paws as he sensed the presence of his father