Tamed

1

My dad has finally agreed that we can get another dog. We have had other pets like cats and fish in the past but our fish always died and our cats would always run away and I never felt the same connection I did when I had a dog. 

"Are you sure about this Alex?" my dad questions on the way to the shelter. He is the typical dad, always looking out for his daughter, he is a medium build and an average height with black hair and hazel coloured eyes. I didn't really get any of my looks from my dad most of them are from my mum we share the same eye colour and hair colour. I have long brown hair and brown eyes, same as mum, which I find pretty boring if you ask me. I got my personality from my dad, though.

"Yes dad," I say sighing frustratingly. That is the fifth time he has asked.

"Your father was just asking darling there is no need to be rude," my mum says. I ignore her. I don't have a very good relationship with my mother ever since the incident with Molly and I didn't talk to her or dad for a while. Dad forgave me but I don't think she ever did.

When we finally arrive at the shelter I'm practically bouncing up and down as we walk through the glass sliding doors. The lady at the front desk greets us politely but I see right past her façade. She definitely just wants to go home.

My dad is the first to speak, "We are interested in adopting a dog." he says with a smile on his stubble covered face.

The lady smiles a tight lipped smile, "Of course, follow me this way." 

She leads us through two large double doors to the back room. The room is full of cages from floor to ceiling with cold concrete floors and small beds in each. There are dogs of all breeds varying from small to big and as soon as we walk in the barking and tail wagging begins. As much as I would love to adopt all of these dogs I know I can't so I begin to walk along the cages looking at each dog. We finally reach the end of the long hall full of cages and none of the dogs has really stood out to me. A different lady walks in and my parents start to have a conversation with her. I hear her say she's responsible for the care of all the dogs and that she's thrilled we are adopting from a shelter. She begins to talk about the terrible conditions of puppy farms and I zone out going back to looking at the many dogs. 

I walk up and down the rows of dogs. I've looked through all of the rows until I see a door with a small window in it, I must have missed it before. I hear quiet whimpering coming from that direction, its almost too quiet to hear. The door clearly says 'STAFF ONLY' but curiosity gets the best of me and I decide to look through the small window. What I see on the other side makes my blood boil. 

A dog is lying on the floor covered in blood, unclean and tied up. The collar he has on is visibly too tight to the point where it is cutting into his skin. I'm unsure of the breed of the dog but my best bet would be a Husky but its definitely crossed with something else, its fur is majority grey with large patches of white speckled throughout. It hasn't yet seen me but I place a hand against the window in hopes it will see me.  He looks a bit like Molly but I can tell from here that he's a boy. His fur is sticking out crazily and is matted with dirt and mud, he also has what looks like a broken leg. He looks up at me with his beautiful green eyes, I've never seen such beautiful eyes that belong to a dog and in that instant I know that I need that dog.

"What do you think you are doing?" My head snaps around quickly. They lady that was talking with my parents is standing behind me with an annoyed expression on her face. I didn't even hear her approach. 

"I was just looking at this dog," I reply. I admit I was a little scared by her.

"Well you can't be here this door is for staff only, obviously," she answers gesturing to the sign.