They’d been given temporary names by July because they hadn’t been chipped or had a collar on, and amazingly enough, they both responded every time like they’d been born with them. I guess some things were just meant to be.
On the back of that thought, I heard Sienna’s voice as she rounded the corner, coming to a stop when Bash and Mento ran over to her.
Looking from them up to where I was standing and watching them make a fuss of her, she looked confused. “I didn’t know you had dogs? They’re so cute. What are their names?”
“I don’t, but the one with the red collar’s Bash, and the blue collar’s Mento.”
It took a while for what I’d said to register because she was so focused on them, laughing as they ran in a circle around her, both of them showing off and then chasing each other. When the first part of my response did, though, her head jerked up.
“If you don’t own them, who does?”
Walking slowly toward her, I stopped to rub the top of Mento’s head then continued forward until there were only a couple of feet between us.
“Well, we were kinda hoping you’d like to take them.” Her eyes widened, and as soon as she opened her mouth, I lowered more forehead to rest against hers.
“These are the dogs July was telling you about. But, if you decide you don’t want them, I’ve said I’ll give them a home. They’re really great boys, who deserve a lot more than what they got from their previous owner. The son of a bitch just dumped them on the side of the road with no food and water.”
Rolling her forehead against mine so she could look back down at Bash, who was rubbing his face on the side of her thigh, she bit into her lower lip. The move was meant innocently, but it was pure torture for me.
Finally, she let it go.
“I’d love to give them security and a home. It doesn’t matter if you’re human or a pet, everyone and everything deserves to be loved and appreciated. But,” she drew out the word as she looked up at me, “if you want to take them sometimes, we can co-parent.”
Chuckling, I pretended to think about it. “How much child support do you need?”
“Well,” she drawled, “food and clothing ain’t cheap these days. And they grow so quickly.”
This rare display of humor, not hidden behind her shyness or wariness, hit something inside me, and a bark of laughter burst out of my mouth, setting the dogs off.
Pulling her in for a hug, I snickered, “Okay, smartass. I’ll buy their shoes, you buy their clothes.”
“Deal.” She clapped her hands and ran over to the door of her house, opening it and waving them through. “What do I have to do now?”
“Well, July’s going to bring the paperwork with her, then she’ll run it back to the office, file it, and that should be it. She thought it was going to be a longer process, but so long as she has a paper trail for them, it’s all okay,” I explained, grabbing the biggest bag of dog food I’d been able to find earlier out of the back of the truck, and hefting it up into my arms.
“She’s already chipped them, so there’s a form for you to complete to get them registered to you. Fortunately, there’s space on it for two contacts, so if you’re okay with it, add me on, too.”
Looking from the bag to the dogs, she nodded as she absorbed the information. “How much food do they need? Do they need vitamins or anything like that?”
“There’s a guide on the side of the bag, but I’d ask July when she gets here to make sure you’re getting it right. For now, we’ll just put some in their bowls so they’ve got something to eat. I don’t think they need vitamins, but I know you can get them at the vets and the pet store. Maybe ask her about that, too, just in case.”
Following behind me into the kitchen, she said, “I think I’ve got bowls we can use until I can buy some.”
“Not necessary. I got them some stuff on my way over, so there are some bags with big ass bowls in the truck that I’ll bring in after I dump this. All you have to do is get to know them and enjoy all the licking they do.”
And that’s what she did. She played with them until I brought in a bag with the toys I’d bought for them. I was thinking that if they were destructive or chewed things, they’d hopefully focus their attention on the toys instead. July had promised they’d been well behaved, but it was never a bad thing to be well prepared.