How Sweet - Mererid

"I like this one the best." Blair said of the tan boxer mix.

"That's what you said of the last one." Jim arched an eyebrow at him and the dog. The dog weighed about 60 lbs, ribs showing, and was clearly trying to climb into Blair's jacket. She'd already made it into his heart. "And the one before that."

"And the one before that." Added the attendant, leaning against the fence. "Her name is Grace. The couple had to give her up; the husband got transferred."

"That is sad. You want to go home with us, Gracie?" Blair asked the dog and she whined, licking his chin.

"Grace." Jim automatically corrected him. He looked down the row of cages to the three-legged dachshund, Scooter. Jim had fallen for that little guy. The dog's big brown eyes were watching Jim.

They adopted Grace that day, and later in the week Jim went back for Scooter. The attendant, a young woman this time, asked him, "Is that the last one, Mr. Ellison?"

"Last one?" He frowned at the girl with Scooter perched up on a broad shoulder.

"Yeah, Blair was in this morning. He took Bert home with him. He said that Gracie was lonely." She smiled up at him.

"Grace." He corrected again, and then grimaced at the thought of all that slobber on his nice, new hardwood floors. "Bert the bulldog?"

"Yep, that's the one! He's a big teddy bear." She handed over the papers on Scooter. "It's so sweet how you two have adopted dogs instead of kids."

Jim glared at her. "Yeah. Sweet." This was definitely the last dog.

The end.

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Acknowledgments: Thank you to Mary for the beta and to Patt for the artwork. Dedicated to PattRose and her dog, Grace.