It was approximately 1:55 when I arrived at the animal reserve and I can see my dad feeding what seems to be like a horse. Yes, it’s a horse. I parked my bike underneath a mahogany tree and walked towards the entrance. A long haired man approached me. He was wearing a soiled checkered polo, brown pants and some thick leather boots. Not to mention he was also wearing a safari hat. For some reason, it seems to be a safari hat since I saw a guy wearing that same hat in Nat Geo Wild. He took off his hat when he finally reached me.
“You must be Oliver’s kid.” the long haired guy said.
“Yeah. He told me to come over here.” I said feeling uneasy. It’s my first time visiting the animal reserve and I thought that my Dad will be the one who’ll welcome me but instead this guy right here welcomed me. I guess my Dad told him that I’ll be coming here, since he mentioned I’m ‘Oliver’s kid’.
“I’m Philip Barnes. Call me Phil.” The long haired guy now named Phil said, he extended his right hand for a hand shake which I immediately accepted.
“I’m Arianne.” I said.
“Glad you came, Arianne. Your father’s waiting for you. ” He said gesturing for me to follow him. We entered the green animal reserve filled with trees and cages made of both steel and wood. Signs and warnings posted around corners telling people to keep away from this and be careful passing there. And then finally, I saw my Dad approaching us, carrying with him a bucket.
“You’re here. That’s great.” My Dad said.
“Yeah, I’m here. So why am I here? Do you want me to work here or something?” I said and I’m still trying to put the clues to the puzzle for some reason. Miss Hale did say that she’s putting somebody else in charge for the dog, and I still don’t know why I’m here since dad did not tell me why.
Phil smiled and snatched the bucket from my Dad’s hand.
“Go and let her see it. You’re still full of surprises, man.” Phil said pushing my dad.
“Yeah right. Follow us as soon as you finish.” Dad said. “C’mon, I’ll show you something.” He continued.
Dad guided me leading to a series of clean cages and small man-made pools. I think this is the animal shelter that he was talking about. We stopped when we reached the last cage in the shelter.
“So ummm. . Miss Hale might have told you about the dog thing.” Dad said.
“Yeah. Let me guess. . She put you in charge?” I said raising one eyebrow.
“Yep. You guessed it right! Wanna go see him?” Dad said.
“Yes.” I said. I’m finally getting myself a dog and what’s good is that I feel like my Dad was the one who planned it all along.
“Okay, but here’s the thing. He’s an abandoned puppy. We found him helpless in an old warehouse, his mother must be dead. He’s still injured but he’s slowly getting in good shape.” Dad said. He opened the cage and there I saw the cutest little puppy I have ever seen in my whole entire life. He’s curled in his tiny bed covered in green blanket. There’s dog food and water beside him. His left front leg is covered in bandages and he has a scar on his neck.
His fur is a mix of white and light brown in color, I can’t tell what’s his breed because of his position. I’ll soon know him somehow.
“You can’t take him, not just yet. We have to wait until he’s better. Vets say that his recovery is fast, he’ll be good to go after a week from now. For the meantime, you can visit him here any time you want. How’s that sound?” Dad said.
“That would be great.” I said. “And for the meantime, I could think of his name.” I continued.
My eyes are still locked on the puppy, I stretched my hand to touch him. He woke up when he felt my warm hands. I saw his strange golden colored eyes. It matched with his coat perfectly and from the moment I saw the puppy lying helpless in his bed, I knew that we’re going to get along pretty well.
Poof.
Suddenly, a name entered into my mind. It’s like the puppy told his name to me. Jerry. His name is Jerry.
“Jerry.” I said it out loud. Then the little puppy closed his golden colored eyes. Preparing himself for another long slumber.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“Um. Nothing. I know the right name for the dog.” I was quite surprised after hearing my father’s voice. I didn’t notice that he was still with me. I took a step back and turn around to face my father.
Now, Phil joined our company. Perhaps he had been in there all along. Though, I did not hear or notice him approach us.
“And it’s Jerry?” Phil said breaking a wide smile on his tanned face.
“I think so.” It’s a wonderful name, I think to myself.
