The Saddest Song - By Susie Kaye Lopez Page 0,52

There was a small skinny German shepherd and two lab mixes. People started to swarm our booth before we even had our instructions but soon we were organized. We had people use antibacterial lotion on their hands before they held the dogs and assisted them in filling out paper work if they were interested in adopting.

In the four hours we were there I didn’t have a moment to pay attention to anything except puppies and trading them from one prospective owner’s arms to the next. I did hear Kara say at the beginning that the small German shepherd was only two and she had been badly abused. When they rescued her she had been severely underweight. Despite that, Kara said she was the gentlest soul she had ever encountered and would make the perfect companion. Surprisingly, at the end of the day the beautiful dog was one of six who had not found homes. She stayed close to Sophie and Kara watched them with a smile.

“Sophie, I think you have made a friend,” Kara said.

“She’s so sweet. I can’t believe that nobody chose her today,” Sophie said, as she pet the dog.

“Yeah, she really took to Sophie as soon as we got here,” Rylee said.

“Actually several people asked about her today but I had to tell them she has already found her forever home.”

“What?” Rylee said. Sophie looked up, confused. I started to be suspicious of Kara.

“Kara, are you match making here? Ethan hasn’t even met her.” Sophie said. I noticed that she didn’t say that she didn’t want to adopt her.

“Well Sophie, I sort of introduced Ethan to her yesterday. I had to make sure he would be okay with it. He was. She’s yours.”

“Oh my god Kara! You are so sneaky!” She hugged the dog, laughing when it licked her face.

“I couldn’t help it. When she came into the shelter six weeks ago she was emaciated and sick but I flashed on a vision of you and Ethan walking her at the beach and I knew it was inevitable.”

“Can’t fight fate, Soph.” Rylee said, meaning it.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I love her already.” She kissed the shepherds head. “So what will Ethan and I be naming her?” She asked, smiling.

“Oh no you don’t. I am not going to deprive you of the fun you two will have choosing it. But it’s a great name for her.”

We all laughed at Kara’s crazy way of making her psychic ability seem normal when it was anything but. While we secured the five remaining dogs in their crates with a reward of chicken basted rawhide to chew on, Kara asked me casually how things were going.

“Oh no, Kara! Tell me. What do you see?”

“No Rainey, I was just asking, I don’t see anything in particular.”

“Forgive me if I panic when you speak to me.” We all laughed.

“I seem to bring that out in everyone. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut, but I just have to jump in if I think it’s going to help.”

“And we love you for it, Kara. Don’t stop,” Rylee said.

She hugged each of us and asked if we would like to help her again with the rescue. All of us assured her that we would. We asked her if she wanted to come back to the house with us and she said she would follow us over. We piled into Sophie’s little bug, but this time Rylee and I both sat in the back so Sophie’s new dog could sit next to her.

Max

After the girls pulled away, Ethan asked Colin and I if we would go with him to Petco before we started to play songs.

“Petco?” Colin and I questioned simultaneously. None of us owned a dog, unless you counted Colin’s moms dog that was an occasional visitor.

“Yesterday Kara had me come over to the shelter at lunch so she could introduce me to a German shepherd that is supposed to steal Sophie’s heart today. We are going to be rescuing her and I need to grab some supplies.” He pulled a list from his pocket. “Kara wrote it all down but I couldn’t get away from Sophie until now to go and buy it all.”

So the three of us went shopping and got everything Kara had written down plus several types of dog toys.

“What if Sophie decides she doesn’t want the dog after all?” I asked as I carried a large dog bed across the parking lot.

“Impossible,” Colin laughed.

“It might happen,” I said.

“Not