“Can we go to the pet store?”

“No.”

Lou pouts but complies. She isn’t allowed to go to the pet store except for one day of the year. Her birthday. And it isn’t her birthday.

Her parents and brother say she can’t be trusted to not buy the whole store, and she supposes that they’re right. She can be quite impulsive when it comes to animals.

It’s her power. Talking to animals means she feels s...

“What would you like?” Mom says to me

As we move through the aisles of Pet Expo

Passing animals with eager eyes

Sweet as they are, I don’t really know?

Perhaps a dog? A fluffy Maltese?

A Golden Retriever with cuddly paws?

But in their gaze I see remnants of wolves

Slashing me up with the power of their jaws

Maybe a cat, with pretty black fur

Who purrs as she rubs herself against my leg

Or is she...

Nathan slammed Lu in the closet and closed it quickly. Lu screamed, banging on the door.

“Uriah!” Lu screamed. I couldn’t move. Nathan’s smile made me shiver. Move Uriah! Move! From the moment I first saw him, I knew there was something off. I backed up as Nathan advanced, just then Lu broke out of the closet and jumped on Nathan’s back.

“Get off!” He yelled.

“Leave him al...

Mom was at work a lot and Nathan usually got home first so I was left to take care of my sister in the summer. I took her and Uriah out side to get some fresh air. The house was stifling and we had a nice yard with a river behind it. I sat on the bank of the river stroking Uriahs back. It was warm from the sun hitting the soft fur. A brilliant reddish-orange in the sun, he squinted in the bright s...

“Mom can I keep him?” I said holding the hurt little creature in my arms. You could hardly tell he was a fox under all the bruises and mud.

“Hun, it might have rabies or something. Plus it’s a wild animal”

“Mommy it’s hurt can we please take him to a healer?” She looked at the pathetic excuse for a fox and nodded.

“Alright Lu, we’ll take the fox to a healer then it’s going back...

Smiling at me, with wide, glossy eyes, the creature flips her tail. Pink with gills and swimming in the water, I press my face against the glass. “Hello little girl.” I say. The creature keeps smiling and twirls in the water, sending bubbles all around. I giggle, this is my first pet after my dog passed away, and I’m in love. Her skin is the perfect shade of pink and her gills are a rosy color.

...

Todays the day ! The day I get to bring home my forever friend. Oh I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted a pet since I was a young boy and nows my chance!

I’m so excited I don’t think I can drink my early evening blood orange smoothie. The sun has gone down and it’s time to get dressed and get going. I want to get to the pet shelter as soon as they open.

The evening night is so pretty. It’s...

Dry leaves tickled the side of Paulina’s right cheek. Her mother calls her Lina but she likes it when Daddy called her Yo Pauly in a funny voice. Wishing she was warm on the sofa eating cereal, Paulina is chilly.

Wet grass smell with a touch of iron rose around her. Confused Paulina tried to inhale. Theo up the street had puppies and he said she could have one if she wanted and she wanted. She a...

Donna,

Mr. Barlowe finally adopted those two loud King Charles Spaniels. I don't think there's a good bone in that man's body. He walks in and complains about how hot it is, then he goes off about the smell. Then he complains about how I'm taking too long to get the keys for their cages. He also had the worst attitude when it came to filling out the paperwork. Seriously, worst customer of th...

My best friend died for the first time fifty-eight years ago.

He died about every seven or eight years after that.

He’ll die again today. Within the hour. You get a sense for such things after awhile.

I will have him cremated.

Again.

Strange thing, this. The loss dulls, but still stings. Really, it’s the witness of well-understood unfolding of process. The saddest part isn’t that he dies...