Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I continued my habit of volunteering at a shelter a few blocks over. However, today there was a dog I couldn't stop looking at. Of course, I'd take all of them if I could. He was an Australian Shepherd puppy and his fur was beautiful shades of brown, his eyes were blue. I adopted him and I named him Finn.
We were sitting on the floor playing fetch. I rolled the tennis ball and watched as he ran as fast as he could to get it. He brought it back and dropped it. "That's a good boy!" I praised and grabbed the ball rolling it once more. I heard a knock at the door, followed by the door opening and closing. "Go sit!" I exclaimed quietly, pointing to the other side of the couch.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, how was work?" He shrugged.
"Eh. It's the same old, same old." His eyes landed on the lone tennis ball that laid motionless at his feet. "You don't play tennis."
"Pssh...yes I do."
"Hales, this tennis ball is wet. Do I wanna know what happened?"
"What are you implying?" I asked with a laugh.
He bounced it once, a few tiny yaps coming from the side of the couch. "Can we talk about the dog in the room?"
"I think the phrase is the elephant in the room, and I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really?" Neal bounced the tennis ball once more, waiting for something to happen. Finn attempted to growl, and ran out from his spot and towards the ball.
"Hales, what is that?"
"I think you know what that is."
"I do. Whose dog is it?"
"Mine."
"Since when?"
"Since this morning!" I picked Finn up, holding the tennis ball as he chewed on it. "This is Finn. He was adopted, but the family couldn't afford to keep him so they brought him to the shelter I volunteer at, so I took him home."
"You legally adopted him?"
"Did you really think I'd just waltz out of the shelter with him without filling out all proper paperwork? I'm offended." Neal walked closer, looking at Finn. "He's an Australian Shepherd pup. Look at how pretty his eyes are!"
"Just like yours." I felt my cheeks heat up as his eyes met mine. I put him down and he ran up onto the couch, laying down. He looked at Neal before he laid his head down.
