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Laughing, Oliver knew what she said was true. “Ma, I’m lonely, and a dog will be easier than a girlfriend.”
“So Joanne’s not moving out there,” Charlie stated.
“No, Pop, not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Is she expecting to?” Clare asked.
“Not that I know of. She’s ticked off at me right now because I forgot to call her after practice on Sunday.”
“She was probably worried.”
After practice in the middle of the next week, Jim Cleveland and Oliver went to the local shelter. They didn’t anticipate the effect it would have on them, walking up and down the cages, looking in on the dogs that came right over, and some that lagged back against the wall.
“Ugh, this might have been a mistake,” Jim said. “How are we going to pick one? I want to take all of them home.”
“Our lease says one dog, so keep focused on that,” Oliver said. “Taking one will help, but which one?”
“Look at that guy,” Jim replied, stopping in front of a cage that held an older German shepherd, who sat shivering in the back of the cage, petrified.
“It’s a girl,” Oliver said, reading the information card. “She was picked up as a stray last week and is available for adoption today. She’s chipped, but messages left at the phone number haven’t been answered.”
“Aw, I want her,” Jim said, kneeling down in front of the cage.
She came right over, wagging her tail.
“Jeez, she’s smiling at you,” Oliver said, giggling.
“She’s just panting. All dogs smile when they pant.”
“Are you boys interested in this gal?” A volunteer came over to take the dog out of the cage for them to meet. “Her chip says her name is Sadie. I’m not sure why the owner hasn’t answered us. The vet said she’s a responsible pet owner.”
Sadie came right out of the cage and got between Jim and Oliver, leaning against Jim.
“Maybe she gave her up for adoption, and Sadie didn’t like the new owners,” Oliver said, scratching her behind the ears.
“I guess we won’t know. So what do you think?”
“Let’s do it,” Jim said.
That was how Sadie came to live at Oliver’s apartment. But on Friday, the shelter called.
“You’ll never believe this, but the owner was on a medical mission trip to Africa for three weeks and just got back. The kennel where she’d left her dog had a fire last week, and somehow, Sadie’s paperwork got lost in the shuffle, and they just discovered she was missing.”
“After a week? Let’s make sure never to use that place,” Jim said, shaking his head at Oliver. “What does it mean for us?”
“I’m so sorry, but the owner is heartbroken and is so anxious to see her dog. Can I give her your contact information?”
“I guess you have to now,” Jim said, frowning. “We really love her already.”
“I know. I’m sorry. We had just recently shortened the length of time we keep dogs that are chipped because we’re so full. Come back and we’ll make sure this time you get a dog that is really available for adoption.”
After he hung up, Oliver waited for him to talk, sitting on the couch with the big old German shepherd sitting on his lap.
“I guess you heard,” Jim said.
“Great dog owner!”
“It wasn’t her fault. She came back from a trip to find out the kennel had had a fire and didn’t even know how many pets they had that might have gotten away. I guess we’ll just wait to hear.”
