"how about this one?"
frank holds up the puppy, his eyes lighting up in hope, while he clutches the dog close to his chest.
you're not quite sure why frank even bothers asking your opinion in this... you knew that no matter what you said, this was going to be frank's dog, and he had the final say. you were just there for moral support.
frank had gone through about every single dog in the shelter, picking them up and playing with them until the teenage volunteers told him he had to move on to the next pen.
he fell in love with every single dog. if you weren't there to stop him, he'd probably buy every single animal in the shelter. every puppy he had looked at, he made the same high pitched whine noise and buried his face in their fur, just bouncing them up and down in his arms. he would do this for about ten minutes, until the dog was eager to get back down to the ground. frank would then play fetch with the dog and scratch its belly and play with it for another fifteen minutes, while the volunteer smacked his gum and leaned against the wall, anything but patient...
so after several hours of frank fangirling over tiny furry creatures, he holds up this little ball of fur and claims 'this is the one.'
"are you sure?"
"mhm," he grins, rubbing his face in it's ear, while the dog quietly yelps in protest.
you think that frank was probably one of those little kids who would just like smother his pets and squish them to death. frank probably dressed his animals in doll clothes too, against their will.
but frank smiles and nods and hops over to the volunteer, who's almost falling asleep.
"this one is perfect," he squeals. the volunteer smiles weakly.
"okay. we'll have to leave him here and take you tot he office for paperwork while we give him a vaccine."
"vaccine?" frank's face falls and he looks down at the dog, his eyes filled with guilt and worry.
"well, yeah, it's standard for shelter adoptions. we'll have him out in about half an hour."
"will it hurt?" frank looks up, his lip quivering a little.
"it's just a short little shot. he'll be fine."
frank's face lights up again and rubs his nose against the dog's, the dog frantically trying to move its face away, but being in the tight grip of frank's arms, is stuck and forced to be cuddled. frank hums softly, his eyes closed, his mouth curved up in a small smile.
dogs were like therapy to frank. if he was ever pissed off or cranky, just find a puppy for him to hold and he would instantly be soothed.
frank reluctantly lowers the puppy to the ground, while the volunteer herds him out of the pen, locking the door behind him, while frank waves goodbye and pouts his lip at the dog, who sits there wagging its tale, finally free from the clutches of iero.
frank slowly slops around the hallways, passing dozens of caged up dogs and cats, his eyes wide and overwhelmed while he walks by each one, resisting the urge to buy them all.
we walk into the lobby, filled with paintings of cartoon animals on the walls like cheap motel art, and bone shaped couches and pillows. frank walks up to the reception desk while they give him a packet of paper which he begins frantically filling out.
you hover behind him, your stomach growling with hunger, considering frank talked you out of your lunch plans to go dog-shopping with him.
frank stops at one of the questions and starts chewing on the end of the pen, tapping his fingers and staring at the paper.
then he pens over a multiple choice question that reads 'where do you leave your pet while on vacation?' scribbling over the answers and writing on the side 'we take our pets with us on vacation'.
"sir...sir?" the receptionist notices him defiling the forms and stands up, looking over his shoulder. "please answer the questions honestly," she smiles.
"i am," frank says with a straight face.
"yes, but, i think you've misunderstood the question. in this case, we mean long term vacations, like month long voyages to different states, different countries, you see?"
"yeah, i know. we took sweat pea with us to hawaii last summer." he smiles and laughs. "she was so funny in the water, she can barely swim. we had to get her little floaties."
frank starts flapping his arms like a penguin and giggling. frank looks over at you and smiles, while you fake-laugh back at him, just wishing you could find something to eat.
the receptionist laughs quietly, and then sits back down, her face falling, looking at frank like he was some kind of alien. she looked concerned for his mental health.
but twenty minutes later, frank finally finishes the paperwork and does a fistpump of triumph.
"can i see him now?!" he screams at the receptionist, who reaches for a bottle of aspirin in her purse.
"it'll be a few more minutes before they're done getting him ready. you guys can take a seat, they'll be out soon."
frank grins from ear to ear and claps his hands together, slowly backing up and sitting on the chair, his hands resting in his lap like a little boy waiting patientally outside of the principal's office.
frank's knee bounced up and down while he bit at his nails until a lady in scrubs brings out the dog, who's yipping from his leash, trying to get to frank, while frank screeches and sits up and runs to the dog, picking it up and squishing it.
"he's all yours," the woman says, not amused at all by frank's enthusiasm.
you reach out your hand and take the leash from her, trying to tell her with your eyes that 'yes im tired, too. sorry about frank's behavior'
frank is cooing to the dog and tickling it, while you both walk out the door of the shelter, and you swear you hear the receptionist let out a sigh as you leave.
"what should we name hi–"
"TEXAS." frank decides, moving the dog so he's over his shoulder like a baby.
"you know he has a leash, you could let him walk."
frank ignores your comment and keeps making baby noises at texas while you approach the car.
"do you want me to lay out some towels so we dont get fur everywhere in your car?"
you ask while frank walks to the passenger seat.
"texas can sit on my lap. it's cool."
you have to admit, as hungry as you are, there's nothing better than seeing frank so happy with his new dog. you smile to yourself and climb in the driver's seat, heading towards the closest taco bell.
