16. Rescue A Mutt From The Needle

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     Lizzy was a little weary when she read the item that was next on the list. Sometimes the task given was crypt and required a little research or questioning people close to him what they knew to find out what some of them meant. That was not necessary this time out because what Hayden wanted was painfully clear this time out: a dog. She was not a dog person and she could remember the many, many fights that she and Hayden had about getting a dog. They were almost as bad as the ones they had about having kids. Hayden was raised in a dog home, one that had almost as many dogs as they had kids. Mr. Sheppard was the reason why his kids were all dog lovers as he was the man with the heart of gold. Mr. Sheppard was a savoir to many of the dogs that came to his home because he went out of his way to adopt dogs from broken and abusive homes and bring them to his home where they would be pampered, cared for and most of all loved with all their hearts by every member of the family.

     This was one reason why Lizzy was so iffy about getting a dog in the first place. Hayden just didn't want a dog; he wanted to adopt an abandoned or abused mutt from the pound and save it from a bad life. She was afraid that a dog with that kind of history would bite either her or their future children. Hayden kept telling her that bad owners make bad dogs and as long as they were good to their mutts, their kindness would be returned with love from the dog towards its family. He was raised to do that by his Dad and he wanted to do the same thing for poor dogs that are down on their luck at the local pound. From what she could see on the list, Hayden had no intention of giving up on getting a dog. He would have eventually gotten around to getting one, and she would have had to put up with them both or walk out. She was never given a chance to have to make that choice, but she loved him to much to let something like a mutt from the pound get between them.

    Now there she was at item number sixteen, having to do the one thing she didn't want to do. At least it was going to be on her terms rather than his. Had Hayden gotten a chance to pick the mutt without her, it would have been a big dog that could place it's head on the kitchen table or give Damon pony rides. Since she had the chance to pick the dog instead, she could try to find one that wouldn't damage the furniture, hog the bed or need to run at the park so often because their apartment was so small. She hadn't backed away from any part of the list so far, so she wasn't going to start now. Lizzy had every intention of going to the pound to pick up a nice dog for her place. When the day came to head down to the pound, she looked around for Anna but she was no where to be seen. She managed to catch Gale as she came out of the bathroom from her morning shower.

    "Gale, where's Anna?" she asked.

     "She's likely meeting that Crispin dude for breakfast." Gale said as she tried her hair with a spare towel. "Those two have been seeing each other often since he came here to finish that video game thingy for Hayden."

     "I guess that mean's it's just us." Lizzy said with confidence.

     "Are we hitting another part of the list today?" Gale asked.

     "Yes we are." Lizzy answered with a hit of excitement. "We are going to complete item number sixteen: rescue a mutt from the needle. I have an appointment at eleven this morning at the city pound."

     "Okay, sounds like fun." Gale said as she left to go get herself changed.

     Once everyone was ready to go, Lizzy and Gale took the bus downtown to the street closest to where they were going and they walked the rest of the way to their destination. Lizzy stopped just outside it and couldn't believe that she was finally giving in and getting a dog. Hayden would be laughing if he could see this but she still had to do it. One item not completed when this was all said and done was one too many. She and Gale walked in and once they were inside they could hear the barks and yelps of the dogs that were caged and wanted to be sprung loose. As they walked inside, someone from the pound walked up and greeted them with a firm handshake.

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