The Sister Song

We will adopt him

It is true that a dog is a man or woman's best friend.

******

As I stared at the empty white wall of my room, I heard barks which was soon followed by a tiny white form running towards me and jumping on my lap.

Cloud, my pet shih tzu started licking my face like a little kid who had a lollipop for the first time. His joy and happiness was so infectious that soon Damon and I started laughing.

Once he stopped licking my face and had finally settled down on my lap, I started scratching him behind his ears.

"Cloud is the best. Look at him, he is so happy and positive," Damon said while smiling down at the dog. I just smiled at him. Why couldn't we be more like him? loyal and happy? maybe it is not meant for our species. 

To others he may seem like a small pup with his tiny form and extremely furry body, but we knew better. This one had already lived half of his life. He had suffered abuse and cruelty, but came out whole and happier. We had suffered, but we came out broken and bitter. 

I still remembered the day, nine years ago, when I met this bundle of joy.

Nine years ago

"Dad we want a puppy," Beth and I kept on chanting as we followed him everywhere. We didn't let him live in peace. Even when he went to the washroom, we stood in front of the door, chanting our mantra. We got scolded so many times, but that did very little to swerve us from our path.

"FINE!" he shouted and our lips lifted up in a triumphant smile. It did not matter if he called us 'brats,' being brats gave us what we wanted.

"Come now, I am waiting in the car."

We happily sprinted towards the car still in our pajamas. We were finally getting a puppy. We got inside the car, and he drove away.

After what felt like hours, we finally arrived at a place with a huge board saying:

"MIRANDA DOG SHELTER: The pawrfect place to adopt your next pet"

We got out of our car and started walking towards a man in his late 50's, he was waiting for us near the entrance. He wasn't short but neither was he tall, he reached till dad's forehead. He had a warm and welcoming smile. His brown oriental eyes held a spark which made him look much younger than he actually was.

"Hello sir, as we have talked I will show you around the shelter and introduce you to all our rescue dogs. You can then adopt any one," the man said in a cheerful voice. My dad just nodded.

As we followed him around and met every dog, my inclination to adopt them all grew. But I knew dad would have a heart attack if I even as much as suggest it. 

I came out of my reverie when I noticed Beth, who had stopped in front of a kennel. I walked towards her to call her back, but as I reached the spot I noticed the object or more like the puppy behind Beth's distraction. 

It was so tiny and so adorable looking. He was licking Beth's hands with a fervor.  Its white fur cocooned it and made it look like a cloud. Among all the white, its round shaped black years stood out. The poor thing had some injuries.

"Ah I see our new pup has drawn your attention," I jumped back as soon as I heard the man's voice. Beth and I looked up at him.

"This young shih tzu is the new addition to this shelter, his name is Cloud. We found him on the streets, bruised and battered, just two months old. I think his previous owner used to abuse and torture him. But this boy is resilient, he has a will to live, a hope for life. We can't keep up with him." As our guide told the story of this pup my heart filled with love and admiration for this tiny being. My heart bled for him. How could someone be so cruel? How could anyone hurt such an adorable and lively pup? it was beyond my understanding. We were going to adopt this one.