Chapter 12
“Where are you taking me?” Quinn peered out the car window.
“To pick up…or should I say, pick out one of your housewarming gifts.”
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you try guessing,” Morgan said. “I’ll give you a hint. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
“A jelly of the month club subscription,” Quinn laughed.
“No, but close. We’re here.” Morgan turned into the Easton Island Animal Shelter’s parking lot and pulled into an empty spot near the front.
“This is the animal shelter.”
“Yep, where you can adopt a pet.”
Quinn’s brows knitted. “You’re giving me a pet for a housewarming gift?”
“I’m paying for the adoption,” Morgan said. “It’s up to you to pick out your new fur family member.”
Her friend’s eyes grew round as saucers. “I’ve never adopted a pet on my own. It’s a big responsibility.”
“It is. Remember, you’ve lived with Chester. You’re more than capable of caring for a pet. The hard part will be deciding on one.”
“True.” Quinn sprang from the vehicle and met Morgan on the sidewalk. “What if I can’t decide?”
“If you want a little advice, I think your best bet is to get to know both the cats and dogs first.” Morgan squeezed Quinn’s hand as they strolled down the sidewalk. “The downside is we only have a couple of hours before the shelter closes.”
“I think I’ll know pretty quickly, like we did when we found Chester. I suppose it doesn’t even have to be a young cat or dog. I know older animals are harder to place, so I guess I would kind of lean in that direction.”
Morgan followed her friend into the main lobby. They stopped by the front desk, where the women explained Quinn was there to adopt a pet. It didn’t take long for her to fill out the adoption papers.
“I’ll run your application through while you’re visiting the animals.” The woman peered at Morgan over the rim of her glasses. “Are you interested in an adoption, too?”
“Not right now. I have a rescue dog at home.”
“But only one?” She arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps he would like a companion.”
“I want to help Quinn find hers first. Who knows? Maybe eventually I’ll be ready to expand my fur family.”
“The cats are to the right. Dogs are in the rooms to the left.”
Quinn thanked her and they continued down the hall. “Let’s meet the cats first.” She cautiously opened the door marked The Cat Corner.
Crates and cages lined both walls. At the far end of the room was a play area. A worker sat on the floor, surrounded by felines in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Tabbies, calicos, Siamese, and even a few tortoiseshell-colored cats lounged around.
Quinn introduced herself and Morgan.
“Have a seat.” The woman explained they only secured the cats in their safe places if they showed signs of aggression toward the others. “As you can see, the crates are empty, which means we have a friendly bunch.”
A brown and white cat rubbed up against Morgan’s ankles. She scratched his ears and ran her hand along his back. “He’s a friendly fella.”
“She. That’s Pippa.”
“Hey, Pippa. You’re a sweetie pie,” Morgan cooed.
“This guy or gal is friendly, too.” An orange tabby placed his paws on Quinn’s shoe, peering up at her as if to say, “pick me up,” to which she promptly complied.
The cat purred loudly, butting his head against her chin.
“George is the head of our welcome committee,” the girl explained. “He’s never met a stranger.”
“I can see that.”
The friends worked their way around the room, meeting the cats, some not the least bit interested in Quinn or Morgan, while others begged for attention.
Finally, reluctantly, Quinn set the friendly feline, who was sprawled out on her lap on the floor. “I wish I could take all of them home. I promised myself I would meet the dogs before deciding.”
“Thanks to the generous support of the islanders, all our animals are well-cared for. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”
Morgan patted her pocket. “I would love to donate while I’m here.”
“Me too,” Quinn said.
“The front desk worker can help you with a donation. We take debit cards, credit cards, cash or checks.”
“We’ll make sure to donate on our way out.” Morgan met Quinn at the door and followed her into the hall. “This is going to be tough.”
Quinn blew air through thinned lips. “Way tougher than I imagined. Did you see how friendly and cuddly those kitties were?”
“Like the worker pointed out, at least they’re loved and well-cared for.” Morgan motioned to the door marked The Puppy Pad. “Something tells me your decision is about to get a lot harder.”
As soon as they opened the door, a rambunctious black dog, roughly half the size of Chester, scampered across the room to greet them.
Thick fur covered his face, drooping down across his eyes. “The Puppy Pad greeter.” Quinn fluffed his ears. “Hey, buddy.”
A young woman, in her late teens if Morgan had to guess, made her way over. “That’s Ralph. Welcome to The Puppy Pad.”
“Thanks. We just left The Cat Corner where we met some adorable kitties,” Quinn explained. “I promised myself I would meet the dogs who are up for adoption before deciding.”
“It won’t be an easy decision. By the way, I’m Kayleigh. Are you both looking for fur family members?”
Morgan tapped her friend’s arm. “Only Quinn, at least for today. I already have a rescue dog, Chester, at home.”
“Feel free to look around.” Kayleigh told them there were a few more dogs in crates in the back. “The ones in the back do better being cared for one-on-one. Some were abandoned, which tends to bring out some behavioral issues.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Quinn’s brows furrowed. “What sort of behavioral issues, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Anxiety, eating disorders, chewing on stuff they shouldn’t.”
Morgan pressed her hand to her chest. “How awful.”
“Not all, by any means, but a few.” Kayleigh told them the special needs pets were showered with extra attention. “I wish I could take them all home. Unfortunately, they won’t fit in my cramped apartment.”
“Do you get many adoptions?”
“Almost every day. The Easton Islanders have big hearts. The dogs are rarely here for more than a few weeks, although the ones with issues have been here a lot longer.” While they chatted, Kayleigh led them around, sharing tidbits about their care and daily routine. It was clear the workers loved the animals. “During the holidays, we host an annual fundraiser, which is where we get most of our operating funds from.”
“Quinn and I plan to make a donation on our way out,” Morgan said. “In fact, I’ll add the shelter to my regular donation rotation.”
“Thank you. I’m a volunteer and so is Susie across the hall. There are only a couple of employees who are on the payroll. Most of the money we get goes right back into caring for the animals.” Kayleigh explained the shelter also had a few other animal breeds—rabbits, hamsters, reptiles, snakes and spiders—housed in another wing of the building.
“I’ll be sticking to a cat or dog,” Quinn said. “I’m not sure I have the skill set to adopt an exotic pet.”
“Me either, but we have plenty of people who like those types of pets as well.”
A couple appeared, and Kayleigh excused herself to go greet them.
“Look at these adorable doggos,” Morgan breathed. “You can see they’re happy and healthy.”
“Which makes me feel good about donating to the shelter.” Quinn plopped down on the mat. “Time to get this meet and greet underway.”
Morgan followed suit and was promptly surrounded by rambunctious pups, all vying for attention.
She cast Quinn a furtive glance, noticing she seemed to be drawn to an older dog and Ralph, the one who had been the first to greet them. “You know, you can always adopt two,” she pointed out.
“I could, but I’m thinking I should probably start out with just one.” Quinn played catch the ball with Ralph. “The good news is my backyard is fenced.”
“I’ve thought about fencing in the rest of mine but haven’t bothered seeing how Chester doesn’t try sneaking off.” Morgan greeted a Dachshund with chocolate colored eyes. “Are you going to meet the dogs in the back?”
“Yeah. I mean, in all fairness, I want to get to know all of them before deciding.”
Kayleigh returned a short time later. “Well? Have any of these sweethearts stolen your heart?”
“Maybe. I would like to meet the dogs in the back before deciding.” Quinn placed the pup who was on her lap aside and slowly stood.
Kayleigh motioned for the couple to take Quinn’s and Morgan’s places on the mat before leading them to the back. “Because of the specific issues I mentioned earlier, it works best if you meet one dog at a time.”
Using a special key, she unlocked the door and disappeared inside the small kennel.
Morgan waited until she was gone. “I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”
“This is going to be tough,” Quinn groaned. “At least I’ve narrowed it down.”
“To a half dozen?”
“No. I love the cats and might even consider one down the road, but for now I have my heart set on a dog.”
“Woman’s loyal companion,” Morgan quipped. “You can take him or her for walks. Chester and I walk as often as we can. A dog is also good for helping protect your home.”
“They are. If I adopt a dog, Chester will have a friend.”
“He would,” Morgan agreed.
Kayleigh appeared. “You can come on back.”
Quinn entered the enclosed area while Morgan hovered in the doorway. There, sitting in the corner, was a brown-haired mixed breed. He bared his teeth. Hunching his back, he warily eyed them.
“This is Slingshot. It takes a while for him to warm up,” Kayleigh said. “You might not want to try petting him.”
Quinn chatted with the dog, who stood guardedly watching them the entire time. “Unfortunately, Slingshot might be more than I can handle.”
“I figured as much. Between you and me, I think he might be better suited for a single guy. Slingshot does better around men.”
The trio returned to the hall. Kayleigh escorted them inside another kennel. Although the second dog wasn’t aggressive, he wasn’t at all interested in meeting either of them.
Ditto for the third dog, and Morgan was beginning to think Quinn would choose a pup from the main area.
“We have one more dog. Her name is Can-dee.”
“Can-dee,” Quinn repeated.
“None of us could decide, so her name is short for can’t decide,” Kayleigh said. “She’s smart as a whip. I swear she understands what you’re saying when you talk to her.”
“Is she friendly?”
“If you can get her to come to you. She’s skittish and struggles at socializing with the other dogs.” Kayleigh told them a local had found her digging around in a trash bin looking for food almost a year ago. “We think she may have belonged to someone who was vacationing on the island. They either lost her or abandoned her.”
“I know if I lost Chester, I would tear the place apart, putting up signs and posting a reward,” Morgan said.
“Same here, which is why we think it may have been more of an abandonment issue.” Kayleigh unlocked the door and led them inside.
Seated on a doggie bed in the corner was Chester’s twin. Her coloring was nearly identical to his…even the expression on her face.
Morgan said the first thing that popped into her head. “Can-dee is Chester’s twin.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Quinn said.
“Can-dee looks like your dog?” Kayleigh asked.
“We rescued him—or more like he adopted us when we found him over on Chester Court not long after we moved to Easton Island,” Morgan explained.
“What do you think the chances are that they’re siblings or related?” Quinn asked.
“If I was basing it strictly on their looks, I would say there’s a very good chance.”
“Like I said, she’s skittish,” Kayleigh warned.
Quinn knelt on the floor. “Hello, Can-dee,” she said in a soft, low voice. “Will you come closer so I can say hello?”
Cand-ee’s ears shot up and twisted from side to side, like Chester’s did when he was listening intently.
“She’s listening,” Morgan whispered.
“Chester does the same thing with his ears.” Quinn slowly extended her hand. “You’re such a pretty girl.”
Using her front paws, Can-dee pulled herself forward, coming within inches of where Quinn sat patiently waiting.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I can’t believe it,” Kayleigh marveled. “She’s never reacted to anyone like this.”
Quinn slid her hand alongside Can-dee’s paw. “Do you know how to shake?”
She lifted her paw and placed it on top of Quinn’s hand. Morgan thought she was going to burst into tears.
“Maybe we can be friends,” Quinn said. “I have a big backyard for you to run around in. If you come and live with me, I’ll take you for walks. You can go to work with me. We’ll be best buds.”
Can-dee tilted her head, listening to Quinn talk, her paw still resting on top of her hand.
“This is amazing,” Kayleigh said. “I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes.”
Moving cautiously, Quinn shifted to a sitting position, all the while talking to Can-dee in a quiet voice.
Mesmerized, the pup inched closer until she was snuggled up against Quinn. She placed her head on her leg. Morgan knew right then her best friend had found her new family member.