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Chapter Seventeen
Aria
Mama and I arrived at a dog training centre in Brooklyn right after midday.
We walked into the reception area and I inspected the training room beyond, which was a large room with all kinds of training aids from obstacles for agility to puppy training toys.
I lined up behind a couple with a cute little Shih Tzu puppy.
“Dr. Aria Jones?”
I glanced at the woman approaching me from the training area.
“Yes, that’s me. Hello,” I said as she shut the magnetic gate behind her.
“Welcome. I’m Monique, and I’ll be working with you and Mama today.” She crouched in front of Mama and held her hand out to her in a non-threatening manner. “Hi there, girl.”
Mama slowly sniffed Monique’s hand. Eventually, her tail began to wag and she allowed Monique to pet her.
“Okay, so she’s a little timid, but friendly. That’s a good start.”
“I’ve worked on her commands and taken her to the dog park. She’s also interacted with my cousin’s little girl and she loved her. She gets along well with my roommates. I haven’t tested her with cats, yet.”
“Okay,” Monique said with a nod of approval. “We’ll get to work on the paperwork and then we’ll be ready to go.”
I filled out the forms and the questionnaire, then we were let into the training area. Mama was tested on her reactions to loud noises, other dogs and puppies, her behaviour around food and children, and finally pocket animals, along with Monique’s cat whom she had brought in especially for this test.
“Bubsy is used to this. I use him for training all the time. He’s probably bored of it at this point.”
Monique’s words appeared to be true. Bubsy simply laid down on the floor and began to clean himself. Then he casually ambled towards Mama. I held her lead tight as she struggled to reach him. I’d never seen her so lively before. She sniffed him and luckily, didn’t try to grab him. She let him rub his fluffy cream-coloured body along her and she play bowed and began to lick him. He stood over her and Mama laid on her back, submitting herself to him.
Monique and I watched the pair’s interaction with amusement.
“So, she passes the cat test, then?” I asked.
“With flying colors,” Monique replied with a chuckle. “You’ve got a wonderful dog here. She’s a little submissive, but she’s quick to warm up. She’s not food aggressive, and she didn’t try to attack the small animals we brought in for her to meet. If you can find her a forever home where they can continue with her training, I think she could be a well-rounded animal.”
I fought back the huge grin that was begging to break out across my face. “Somehow, I think she might very well be a foster fail.”
Monique wasn’t afraid to flash me a huge grin. “I think that’s such a good decision. I can tell the pair of you have a special bond. It would be a shame to break that up. I think she’ll truly benefit from staying with you.” Monique rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’re making a great decision, and you’re a wonderful person for giving Mama a second chance.”
“Thank you.” My heart swelled when I glanced down at Mama and found her sitting patiently by my feet, gazing up at me with those beautiful big, brown eyes. Even she believed she was mine. How on earth could I send her away? I knelt and when I wrapped my arms around her body, I felt her lean into my shoulder and the hug. “We’re family, Mama.”
We left the training centre and I decided to reward Mama for her good work as well as myself. On our way home, I stopped to collect some cupcakes from a cute bakery down the street from my apartment—a place that made all the kinds one could possibly imagine, plus some you probably couldn’t, including dog-friendly kinds.
Once I’d chosen three lemon cupcakes with butter cream for myself and the girls, and a healthy banana cupcake for Mama, we returned home where I made myself a hot cup of black tea.
“Here you go, Mama.”
I set her cupcake in her bowl and sat at the table to enjoy my own treat. I turned my focus off the negative thoughts and onto the tranquillity of the moment. It made me realise how little time I took to truly slow down and take the time for self-care these days. I was a country girl, one would think I had this kind of thing down pat, but I didn’t. It was telling that it was Mama who brought it out in me.
I was almost finished with my cup of tea when Lily arrived home. The expression on her face was a mixture of excitement and trepidation, and clearly her thoughts were a million miles away because she startled when she saw me. “Hey,” she said slowly.
“Hello. You’re home early,” I observed.
“Yeah.” Lily moved to the table and sank into one of the chairs. “So are you.”
“Mama passed her assessment with flying colours.” I puffed myself up and watched as the dog licked her lips and looked at me as if to ask if there was more. “She just finished her doggy cupcake reward. I had a cupcake, too, though mine was lemon with butter icing.”
