Your Colorful World vs. My Black and White World

Paul Montalvo walked into the family owned animal shelter with a small pup in his arms. He found the puppy abandoned in a Pathmark parking lot. Usually, Paul would’ve called one of his friends to find the canine’s owner, except for the fact that it was probable its previous owner made the awful decision to leave their dog to fend for itself. The option that the puppy was lost didn’t fit when Paul found it huddled in a small cardboard box with a small blanket wrapped around its body. Its owner definitely left it to die.

“Dad?” Adeline asked, placing the magazine she had been looking through down onto the table.

Paul sighed, giving the puppy to Adeline. “I found him at Pathmark. You have to put him in one of the temporary rooms.” He never liked using the terms ‘cage’ or ‘cell.’ They sounded extremely inhumane and evil to him. He even went the extra mile and had every “temporary room” modeled so it didn’t look like a prison cell; it looked like a standard average room for a pet.

“He’s so adorable though!” Adeline pouted, scratching the black dog behind his ears. She figured he was a Shih Tzu, but wasn’t entirely sure.

“Well, adorable isn’t going to make him special to the other animals. He has to go in one of the rooms. I need to fill out paperwork for this new addition,” Paul sighed. He headed into his office.

The puppy barked, looking into her eyes with his brown ones, waved his tail, and licked her face. She frowned. The puppy was too adorable. Why would such a careless person leave such an exquisite creature behind? He looked like he needed a lot of love even if he was currently conveying happiness.

Adeline placed the puppy on the front desk, letting him scurry around, sniffing the marble surface carefully. The puppy’s ears perked up at the sound of the animal shelter door opening and closing.

Adeline scooped the curious puppy into her arms once again, afraid he would attack whoever just walked in.

Johnny walked up to the font desk, a smile on his face.

“Johnny!” exclaimed Adeline. The puppy sensed she was in a good mood, making him bark joyfully at Johnny, his tongue lolling out.

“Ady!” Johnny mimicked.

“What do you need today?”

“First off, I did not know you worked here! Second, I thought you were afraid of animals. Third, I was walking around and saw this shelter so I decided to look inside.”

“One,” she began, holding one finger up, “you never asked me where I work. I happen to work everywhere actually. Second,” she added another finger, “I am afraid of animals when they’re charging at me with amazing speed, like your cat Shifter. If I see the animal first, then I can get myself ready from not fearing it. And third,” she held up a third finger, “I‘m happy you didn’t go to the pet store. The animals there were born from breeders, not naturally so to speak. It’s better that you go to an animal shelter to save them from uncertain death. Now that you’re here, are you looking for any particular animal to adopt?”

“Actually, do you mind if I take a picture of you with that dog you’re holding? My friend might want it,” suggested Johnny, taking out his phone.

Adeline held the puppy in place, smiling a little while Johnny took the picture. He sent the picture straight to Zacky.

“Thanks a lot babe,” Johnny smiled.

“It’s no problem,” she said shyly, a pink tint to her cheeks.

Zacky inspected the picture Johnny sent him. The little dog in the picture seemed small enough to live with Zacky when he moved into his new house. He needed company, a companion with him when he would have to live alone in a few months. He knew he wasn’t going to be used to the feeling of living in a house all alone, in complete silence.

The more he thought about it, he felt paranoid. If he lived alone without any other living being with him, the chance of someone breaking into the house without his knowledge was too great. Now if he had a dog with him, at least he wouldn’t be alone. Also, since dogs have better hearing than humans do, it would surely hear any strange noises before he could.

Zacky looked back at the picture on his phone’s screen. Was the puppy too small? Maybe he was better off adopting a big dog such as a German Shepherd. That way, if need be, the dog could protect him from any intruders.

He closed his eyes, groaning. ‘Moving out might’ve been a bad idea,’ he thought, rubbing his forehead.

He shook his head quickly, regretting his previous thought. When he was a teenager, he couldn’t wait to live on his own and have his own place to call home. He would always feel a sense of security at his parents’ home, but he knew that he couldn’t stay there for the rest of his life. That was lonely, figuratively.

The picture flashed onto the phone as Zacky looked at it once again. He liked the dog, it looked so happy. His eyes trailed up to the person holding the dog; Adeline.

A smile formed on Zacky’s lip. He sent Johnny a text, thanking him for sending the picture. Zacky planned to adopt the Shih Tzu, but he also planned something else for the person holding the little dog. He had a plan, and his plan was going to take off perfectly.