To Love Someone (Baytown Boys #14) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,82
why you were checking on the Bender property. Now that you’ve said worry, I am worried! What’s going on?”
He pulled off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door. With his phone in his hand, he nodded toward the counter. “Let’s sit, and I’ll explain everything.” He placed his hand on her arm and gently directed her back toward the counter, murmuring, “We’ve got better light here.”
Her brows snapped together again, but before she had a chance to ask more questions, he slid onto the kitchen stool next to her. Twisting so that he faced her, his legs spread slightly so that his knees were on either side of hers, he held her gaze. “Let me start off by saying that I know anything I find out would be inadmissible for law enforcement because yes… I was trespassing.”
She gasped, the quick intake of air accompanying her eyes widening even more.
“Out of curiosity, I looked up Jim Bender’s property after thinking about how many acres he said he owned, especially since it partially borders the Maryland line and has water accessibility to the inlets of the bay.”
Her brow stayed crinkled, but the glare had left her eyes to be replaced with a gleam of interest. Her tongue darted out to moisten her bottom lip as her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
Encouraged, he continued. “I have no idea if there’s anything going on besides Jim Bender breeding top-quality, champion dogs. And, I suppose, it makes more sense that if someone is illegally breeding wolf-hybrids and selling them across the Bay for use in dogfighting, there’d be a lot of people needing the money in this area, not a well-to-do man like Jim Bender.”
“What about Lionel or Alejandro? They acted like they didn’t want us there.”
Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I thought about that. And the fact that they come over the bridge from Norfolk. But, if he was going to breed, he would hardly do it on the back of Jim’s land.”
Her nose scrunched, and he leaned forward and kissed her lightly. He caught her grin, and said, “Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.”
Her lips quirked upward as she leaned forward and placed her hands on his thighs. She nibbled on the corner of her bottom lip before saying, “This is nuts, you know. But… I’ve been doing a little research myself and reached out to a few of my vet school colleagues that I thought might have some information.”
He squeezed her hands in encouragement, curious to see what she had to say.
“While German shepherds have certainly been used for dogfighting, there are other dogs that are much more common. Down through history, mastiffs, St. Bernards, Great Danes, and the Newfoundland were used as fighting dogs because of their size. Nowadays, none of those make the list of popular fighting dogs. The dogs used today are usually medium-sized and sturdy, like the bull terriers and bulldogs, Doberman, rottweiler, Akita, to name some of the most popular. And yes, German shepherds still make the list even though they’re not at the top, although the Caucasian shepherd is a more likely dog for fighting.”
“Caucasian shepherd?”
“They were bred in the Caucasus region of Armenia and Azerbaijan. They are dominant, powerful, quick, strong, and extremely territorial. They were actually bred to fight off wolves.”
“But what if they were hybrids? Would adding in purebred wolf genes to any of these dogs’ genetics make them more likely to want to defend their territory?”
She shrugged, her face pinched. “I don’t know. There’s no information about that… no case studies, no research, no historical data.”
They sat quietly for a moment, then he jerked slightly, capturing her gaze again. “Samantha, we’re going about this all wrong. It doesn’t matter why somebody might be breeding purebred wolves illegally. It doesn’t matter if a hybrid makes a better fighting dog. If somebody’s breeding them, then it’s illegal. On top of that, if they’re breeding them and selling them, that’s illegal. If they’re breeding them and selling them to be used in dogfights, that’s also illegal. In other words, the why doesn’t matter. It’s just whether or not someone has a full-blooded or even a wolf-hybrid here on the Eastern shore.”
Nodding quickly, her eyes brightened. “You’re right! We don’t have to figure out why someone is doing what they’re doing. I just want to know if they’re doing it!”
He pulled out his camera and laid it on the counter. “Then I guess I should show you what I found.”