 |
| I'm around 5 months old here |
Ever since Tierney has been little, she has loved to go to the pet store. Sometimes, Linda would pile both kids in the car and drive to our small Mom & Pop pet store in town just so they could pet the puppies and kittens. It was the kind of store that had the puppies in the front window in two big glass open-top pens. Twenty years ago, you were actually allowed to pick up the pups and cuddle them all you wanted. As the years went by, you had to ask permission to pick up a dog. Even later, one of the worker-dudes had to pick up the dog and put it in your arms while he stood right next to you. Five years ago, you could not even hold the dog in the store area. Bad people were running out of the store stealing dogs worth thousands of dollars. One day, Tier begged Linda go to the pet store with her. Linda so did not want to go, but Tier enticed her with the old "mother/daughter bonding time" line. (That melts Linda's heart every time.) The pens were filled with romping, robust puppies falling all over each other. Except for me. I was trying to hide myself up against the glass, hating every second of being there. At not even one and a half pounds, the other pups were 5-10x bigger than me! Oh, and I was super ugly too. I'd only been there a few hours when Linda and Tier came in. A regular customer had two dogs, a Yorkie and Chihuahua, who fell in love and had a litter. She bought the runt (me!) to the store since she could not sell it for top dollar. The pet store owner took me, on condition that if I didn't sell soon I would have to go back. The second Linda and Tierney were alone in the special room with me, they both knew I would be their forever dog. Linda had to ask Jerry if it was OK, so he drove up to the store. As soon as he cuddled me, I was his princess and we all agreed that I was a new member of the family. Sure, I was expensive... but now I'm priceless. I love my family and they love me. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the whole world. That pet store is now out of business. It's not even cool to get your dog in a pet store now. Most people adopt from the shelters, which is wonderful. Or some go to breeders who specialize in a certain kind of dog.
