Chapter 39 #2
“Oh, don’t you dare want that thing out of all the options in this place,” Sabastian huffed but didn’t seem too upset over that fact.
I couldn’t stop but shooting him a glance that hopefully told him I would indeed like this pet, but also knew it wasn’t an option.
Goats may be cute and seem sweet, but they eat things.
And we're also not the indoor type of things. His yard didn’t have shelter, and I highly doubt he’d let a grazing animal eat his blankets in the house.
“There is emotion in you. I see that amusement you hide.”
I turned away from him, halfway moving on to the next animal.
Maybe, if my life had been different, I’d be on a farm surrounded by all types of animals that I could pet and love. But I was a slave to the world I was born in. There was no way out for me or anyone like me. Once a slave, always one. In one form or another.
A few of the dogs weren’t in their cages, but the couple that looked big and scary. And fluffy.
The cream-colored one was huge, hair clumped and matted in places. His eyes looked sad, just like I always was. Sad to be held in a spot where there was no hope of finding love or a home.
Turning the corner, bigger dogs. Some barked, and some ignored us. They looked content, I guess. Not as sad, or as shaggy.
Down another hallway, we got to the smaller dogs, and puppies as the sign said.
“Puppies?”
“Yeah. This place is a no-kill shelter, so they take in all types of animals. A lot of the places these pets came from were breeding houses, where the animals suffered abuse and were only used for one thing.”
Kind of like me, I thought.
“The puppies, at least, haven’t been through such a hard life. They will take better to having a good home. Not that the older ones won’t take kindly to a new home. Not all of them, of course. Some are surrounded by their owners for many reasons.”
“Like the goat.”
“Yeah,” Sabastian laughed through his nose. “Not sure what his story is. I’m sure we could ask though.”
I shook my head. There was a need to know if I wasn’t planning on taking the poor thing. I had to hope that it’d find its rightful home soon.
I glanced at the row of puppies, most cute and small as they slept or played around. They didn’t look all that much bigger than the kittens, and there were two to three in each of the smaller cages.
“I swear chihuahuas populate as fast as mice,” Sabastian commented, pausing to read more of the small info pagers that were taped up. “They are known to be little yippies.”
I had to agree there. There was a neighbor who had a couple that barked non-stop. Not that I saw more than a glimpse of them here and there.
Moving down the row some more, I paused when my eyes landed on another cage, this one only holding one puppy.
Its fur looked soft, its body on the longer side with short little legs, a longer tail, and floppy ears.
“She’s a cute little thing.”
She really was. Her coloring was what grabbed my attention the most. Light brown and almost gray, with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Bluer than the sky.
“Says here before she was surrendered, she was born to from a mini Aussie while the dad was a dachshund. About five months old. Sweet, but skittish of new people. Sounds like someone I knew.”
I blinked, trying not to blush at the words. But he may be right on the skittish part, at least.
“Whatta you say we meet this puppy?”
“If…sure?”
“Good catch.” He pressed a kiss to the side of my head, leading me around the way towards the front of the place once more. On the way, we did stop at a couple of other puppies, ones that seemed like they’d be a handful.
It didn’t take long for Sabastian to tell the lady at the desk which animal we wanted to meet, and then get placed into a stoned walled room. There were three chairs, a few toys, and on a shelf, a bucket of treats.
“Is this place a better outing than the zoo?” He asked once the lady left us to go grab the puppy, leaving the two of us in here, sitting on metal chairs.
“Yeah.” It was. My mind wasn’t wandering all over the place. “The goat is cute.”
“So it can eat that skirt,” his eyes dipped to my legs, an eyebrow raised. “I think we’ll take the chance with a puppy over that.’
Didn’t he know puppies ate things, too?
Before I could get the nerve to ask that, the lady came in, carrying the puppy in her arms.
“A little about this little gal,” she said, shutting the door tightly behind her. “She’s the sweetest little dog we got here. And she’ll be adopted out fast. Today is her first day to be viewed, and not even posted online yet.”
“I’m glad we get to meet her first then.”
The lady sat the puppy down. “She may not go to either of you, but if you sit on the floor and wait her out, she may.”
I was the first to move, sitting on the floor with my legs bent to the side. Sabastian didn’t do so, instead, he stayed in his chair.
“Do you have any questions?”
“Has she been fixed yet?” Sabastian asked, moving a bit so his leg touched my back.
“We prefer to wait until she’s six months old, then she will be. That will be included in the price, along with making that appointment before you leave today if you choose to adopt.”
“The paper said she was the smallest of the litter?”
“Yes. She’s the runt but in great health. So she’ll most likely stay on the smaller side as she grows. We are trying to work on potty training, but that’s only going to go so well with being in a place like this.”
“Understandable.”
Slowly, as the two talked, the puppy sniffed the ground, slightly wagging its tail. When she saw me, she slowly walked to me, like she wasn’t entirely sure about coming too close to me.
I knew that feeling. Being afraid of wanting comfort, yet desperately wanting it.
I stayed still, waiting. Just like the times that Sabastian waited me out.
Eventually, when it was most likely only a few minutes, the puppy lay down, crawling on its belly towards me. When she was in the distance of being touched, her tail wagged.
A moment later, she crawled into my lap, where I slowly let one hand run along her head.
She was just as soft as she looked. And I think I found what love meant. I wanted her.
Would Sabastian let me have her?