Word spread. Soon, Elena’s waiting room filled with a different kind of patient: a parrot who plucked its feathers after its owner died, a former racing greyhound who panicked at the sight of grass (he had only ever run on sand), and a potbellied pig with obsessive-compulsive tail-chasing.

The biological study of animal behavior, focusing on how animals interact with their environments and each other.

For two hours, nothing happened. On the third day, a pair of gold-green eyes glowed from behind a rusted water heater. On the fifth day, Shadow took a single step forward. Elena did not reach for him. She turned a page.