Hoodwinked | Calum Hood AU

23

"Oh my gosh," I look at the rows and rows of cages. Inside are little fluffy puppies, bigger ones that haven't quite grown into their paws yet and tired dogs who look like they'd do anything for a bath and a cuddle. "How are we supposed to choose one?"

"What kind does Alfie want?" Luke pokes his finger through the cage to touch a small white Maltese Terrier.

"Any kind," I laugh. "As long as it's a living, breathing dog that is all his own." And then I add hastily, "Nothing too big, either."

One of the shelter volunteers approaches Luke and I. She's probably the same age as my Dad and wears the obligatory purple shirt all of the other volunteers wear. Her name tag reads Lane. "Would you and your boyfriend like any help?"

"Oh, she's not," Luke starts, "we're not -"

"Yes, we would," I tell her, ignoring Luke's confused face. "We're looking for a puppy. It's my brother's birthday next week. Ideally we'd like a breed that doesn't need to be walked every day."

I follow Lane leaving Luke by himself. First she shows me a four-year Beagle who's cute and cuddly but doesn't seem to have enough life in him for Alfie. Next is a Rottweiler who barks loudly and makes me jump. Definitely not him.

Three pug puppies catch my eye, and I immediately go over to their cage. "They're so tiny," I whisper, as Lane unlocks the cage so I can have a pat. I pick up the pudgiest puppy, cradling him into my chest. "Hi little guy."

"Girl," Lane says with a smile. "That ones a girl."

The puppy nuzzles into my chest and my heart is stolen. I'm putting her back into the cage so I can tell Luke we've found the one. I find him over by a black and white dog with big pointy ears. She's cowering in the corner, looking absolutely terrified.

"Can you open her cage?" Luke asks Lane. She hesitates and then nods. Luke puts his hand in the cage and waits patiently.

"She's a Boston Terrier cross something, we're not exactly sure what," Lane tells me quietly. "She was left here about four months ago now in a pretty rough condition. We think her previous owners didn't treat her very nicely."

Luke's hand is still hovering, and he's whispering to the dog like she can actually understand him. "They just abandoned her?" I ask, feeling incredibly sad for the animal.

Lane nods, her eyes sad. I'm guessing she sees this type of thing a lot and suddenly I'm wishing I could take them all home with me.

"Does she have a name?"

"We named her Pepper, because of the way her white fur peppers into the black around her ears."

Pepper stands up. Her nose leaning ahead of her body until it finds Luke's hand. She sniffs it gingerly and then takes a step back slightly. Luke's hand doesn't move and a second later, she sniffs his hand again.

I watch on, as the dog slowly warms up to Luke. Sniffing his hand and moving a little closer each time. Finally, she gets close enough for him to pat behind her ears with both of his hands and it looks like her body is melting into his. You're not the only one, Pepper.

"We'll take her."

Luke looks up at me, his hands still rubbing Pepper's ears. "Are you sure?"

"I thought you'd decided on the little pug?" Lane asks.

"No," I shake my head, never more sure of anything. "This is the right one."

Lane looks delighted and tells me she'll get the paperwork ready. I leave Luke with Pepper and go out to the car to get the dog carrier we bought at the pet store on the way here. Excitement takes over as I realise that this is really happening. We're really getting a dog! Alfie is going to be over the moon.