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She did as asked, mulling over the dog’s name as she did and moving a few feet away.
    Alex took a long leash off a nearby hook, and she noted that every kennel had a similar hook with a leash handy. When she’d first come in, she hadn’t noticed them, but she guessed it was a lot more convenient than storing them all at one end of the row of kennels or another.
    Opening the kennel’s door, Alex murmured a few words. His tone was calm, firm. Not sweet or coaxing, the way she’d heard some people talk to their dogs in public parks or stores. And Souze’s attention was completely on him, where other dogs in her experience were too busy looking at everything around them to pay attention to their owners.
    Souze rose to his feet and crossed the few steps to Alex, then sat in response to another quiet command. The big dog even turned his head slightly so Alex could easily hook the leash to his collar. A moment later, Alex was leading him out into the hallway area.
    “Why don’t we all walk over to the training field?” Alex jerked his head, indicating a direction over his shoulder. “Plenty of room, no distractions, and the others won’t get jealous.”
    So considerate. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the other dogs might be jealous of seeing attention given to one of them and not all of them. But then, her mom’s friends had a pair of little Dachshunds that spite-peed any time a person picked one up and not the other. It was probably wise not to inspire such behavior in bigger dogs.
    Had to be a lot of pee.
    She followed Alex out of the kennel hallway and across a yard. There was another fenced area, probably the training field. It was a wide open expanse of grass, clear of trees and shrubs. The fence took her by surprise, though. “I’m guessing having a fenced-in field is important when you’re training dogs—maybe to let them off their leashes or something—but it’s taller than me. Why build the fence so high?”
    Alex walked a few yards into the training field and grinned at her as she closed the gate behind her. “Any of these dogs could jump a normal fence.”
    Wow . “So you’re keeping them from running?”
    He shrugged. “None of the dogs would run from a trainer so much as decide to go after something. They’ve got really strong prey drives. Spotting a squirrel or rabbit on the other side of the fence is a big temptation, especially early in their training when they’re still working on discipline.”
    “So having a fence that tall will stop them from going after whatever caught their attention?” There was something else she was missing. Alex was grinning too wide for it to be that simple.
    “You’re close, but it’s easier to show you than tell you. Besides, Souze could use the easy exertion after being in the kennel all morning.” He bent and whispered something to the dog. One big ear swiveled to listen. Alex reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a tennis ball. The dog’s gaze locked onto the tennis ball, and a fine tremor passed through the dog’s entire body. Suddenly, the dog was eager and ready. “Just stay where you are and watch.”
    Then Alex removed the leash. Souze stood still, his complete attention on the trainer. Alex drew back his arm and tossed the tennis ball over the fence then uttered a single word. “Brrring.”
    Souze exploded forward. He was a black-and-tan blur, covering the ground to the fence in seconds. When he reached the fence, he gathered his hind legs under him and launched upward, catching the chain link in his paws. Perched high up on the fence, the dog proceeded to climb the rest of the way to the top. Once he got there, he dove from the top of the fence to the ground on the other side and snatched up the tennis ball. He looked back at Alex and returned the same way he’d come.
    Once Souze was back at Alex’s side, Elisa let out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding.
    Alex looked at her. “Climbing the fence takes them