"Only half of them," Karen said cheerfully. King took her tone for an excuse to try to get some attention, and sat down in front of her, tail wagging in the sand.

She gave King a scratch behind his ears. "This is King," she said, and pointed out the other dogs, "Halifax, Taser and Rembrandt. They all came with Sam when Mathias disappeared, and had previous owners before that. Utica, Styles, and Matthews were already with me. Just call me the resident island crazy dog lady."