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.”
“All right, 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. “Good afternoon! My name is Marcus and I am going to help you find your new friend!”
“That’s great!” Gale said to show her excitement.
“Is it possible to narrow the field down with some specific requests?” Lizzy asked as they walked into his office.
"Of course!” Marcus said as he took a seat behind his desk. “I always recommend that people give me some hints to what kind of dog they want so that I can find a nice, long term match.”
“Well, I'm not looking for a big dog.” Lizzy admitted right off the bat. “I live in an apartment and it would be best if I had a small dog.”
“Absolutely! Small dogs are much better for apartments.” Marcus agreed as he typed furiously into the keyboard. “Now let's trim this list down. What kind of color are you looking for?”
“Excuse me?” Gale asked, somewhat offended by the question.
“I really mean what breed.” Marcus said, trying to back track. “Most people don't know the names if each breed so I get to them to tell me their color and I can find the one they are looking for much, much faster. I meant nothing by it.”
“It's okay.” Lizzy said as she put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “I was actually looking for a small dog that is quiet. Like a poodle.”
“Hmmmm, I think I might have a match for you.” Marcus said as he punched the keys for a little longer. “We have a poodle, a beautiful dog and pure breed too!”
“Okay, sounds like a winner.” Gale said, trying to sound into the whole process.
“Here,” Marcus said as he turned the monitor around, “Have a look at this little pooch.”
Lizzy leaned over and took a look. It was an adorable little poodle and he was a light shade of grey. Lizzy liked the little poodle because this kind of dog didn’t shed, which would mean less fur for her to clean up around the house. She also liked the way this mutt looked and decided to take a look. “Can we have a look at her?”
“Well, you can look at him.” Marcus corrected. “His name is Wyatt and he's a scrappy little thing but is the most adorable poodle you'll ever come across.” He got out of his chair. “This way, I'll take you to see him.”
Lizzy followed Marcus and Gale as they walked past the many cages and couldn't help but ask questions while on the way there. “Why did they call him Wyatt? Seems like such an old name.”
“You'll see why.” Marcus said with a chuckle.
When they arrived to the cage where Wyatt was being held, Lizzy could immediately tell why the small poodle was named after an old western gunfighter. The little grey poodle had a big moustache that looked like he was ready for the gunfights of the O.K. Corral. He was the cutest thing Lizzy had ever seen. She quickly turned to Marcus and said the words she never thought would come from her mouth in this of all places. “I'll take him.”
“Excellent!” Marcus squealed with delight. He looked like he was about to do a moonwalk like celebration got stopped himself just short. He had someone fetch a pet carrier for her and transferred poor Wyatt from one cage to another. Wyatt whined a bit not sure about what was going on, but Marcus handed the cage to Lizzy and she did her best to sooth the poor dog and he responded almost immediately. Marcus was a giddy as a school girl at the prom. “I think we have a solid match here. I've got a really good feeling about this.”
After filling out a little paper work and even handing over a small fee to help the other doggies that didn't get sprung, Lizzy was not the proud owner of a small mutt that she just rescued from the needle, at least maybe. Wyatt was actually rather quiet as they took the bus back to the apartment. When they got back home is when things really got interesting. She put the carrier on the floor and opened the door to let the dog out. Wyatt was scared and didn't want to come out at first. They tried to bribe him with food, water and even chocolate chip cookies to coax him out, but nothing worked. A few hours later Wyatt did come out of the cage but only when no one was looking and bolted underneath one of the couches. Lizzy started to worry about it but there really was no need.
“Relax Lizzy.” Gale assured her, “He just needs time to adjust to his new surroundings. This place is a lot different than the pound and he
needs time to get used to it.”
“Okay.” Lizzy said as she took a deep breath. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Let's call the real expert and see what he says.” Gale suggested.
It was obvious who the real expert was. She picked up the phone and called Hayden's Dad and told him everything that had happened that day, from adopting Wyatt from the pound to him being under the couch and not moving anywhere. “I'm not used to having a dog like Hayden was. What am I supposed to do?”
“Nothing.” Mr. Sheppard answered. “Leave some water and food in the kitchen but go about your normal routine. He'll keep watching and when he's ready to come out, he will.”
Lizzy did as she was told, leaving some water and food out for the little guy in the kitchen and then made her own supper for her and Gale. It was something simple as she cooked up some sausages and put a small garden salad on the side with dressing. Both Gale and Lizzy went to the living room to watch television while eating their supper and about a half hour into eating there supper, Lizzy heard a small whimper. Wyatt had finally come out from underneath the couch and apparently liked the smell of what they were eating. He was sitting on the floor beside where Lizzy was sitting and made another whimper. He wanted a sample of what Lizzy was eating. Rather than feed him there in the living room, Lizzy took the part of the sausage she didn't want and used it to lead the small dog to the kitchen. As she walked to the kitchen, she could hear the little patter of Wyatt's feet as he followed her to the kitchen and to where his food and water bowls were. She chopped up the sausage in to small pieces that Wyatt could handle and then spread it on top of his food bowl. As the little dog started to eat his food, Lizzy took a moment to smooth his back with a soft touch. After a few strokes she decided to not badger the poor thing while he ate. Lizzy walked back to the living room and sat back down and continued to watch TV with Gale. A few moments later Wyatt came back out and hopped onto the couch beside Lizzy and gave out another whimper. Lizzy reached out her hand and let the little dog sniff it and then after a few licks she knew it was okay to give him a really good petting. She scratched behind one of his ears and then his neck and the little guy loved it and showed it by crawling over and lying down on her lap, eager for more attention. She continued to smooth his back and then looked over at Gale who had a huge grin on her face. “What?” she said.
“You can't fool me.” Gale said as she laughed. “You and this dog are bonding. By the end of the week, he will be family. Never thought I'd see the day you would have a dog of your own that you love this much.”
“He is pretty cute, isn't he?” Lizzy said with a smile.
“Now in order to complete this task, you have to admit the obvious.” Gale said as she sat up in her chair. “You have to admit that Hayden was right all along.”
“No.” Lizzy said as she continued to pet her new dog. “Hayden would have picked a marmaduke like dog, one that would take up this whole couch. The reason why this is working is because Wyatt isn't a hog.”
“He's too small to cramp your style.” Gale said with a laugh.
“It’s just one of many reasons why I like him very much.” Lizzy said. “Odds are he's not going to take up much room on the bed either.” Lizzy looked over at Gale who was roaring hysterically. “What?”
“Your bed?” Gale repeated as she kept laughing.
It turns out Wyatt wasn't a bed hog after all. It wasn’t that the little guy wanted more of the bed rather than the fact that he wanted to snuggle up with Lizzy for warmth. He was very quiet at night except with odd moment when he jumped off the best to nibble some of the kibble. She took Wyatt for three walks a day: once in the morning, another in the afternoon and then just a small chance to poop or pee before bedtime. Wyatt had the urge to chew the occasional shoe, but she used his bite marks as her constant reminder to put her shoes away when she got home because she should know better. She and Wyatt always had a decent understanding and never really got on each other's nerves too much. Turns out both Hayden and Marcus were right time out and she was dead wrong. There was nothing wrong with saving a dog from the needle, as Hayden put it, but the key was to find the right dog that fit not only you but the environment that you dwell within. Wyatt was getting more and more brave the longer he lived there. Sitting on the couch and sleeping there for hours, but it wasn't until a month after he arrived that he really got brave. He sat in and started to sleep in the one chair that he never saw anyone get into: the big ugly green chair. Lizzy came home one day from looking something up for another item on the list when she realized where Wyatt was sleeping. She smiled and sighed, “I don't really think he would mind.” she whispered to Wyatt who likely didn't hear her. “What Hayden had he always shared with his dogs; even his chair.”
When she finished saying that, Wyatt opened his eyes and let out a cute little bark. He then bolted to the door to greet her home. She never hesitated to admit it; she was now a dog lover like her husband. A dog lover who was willing to take go down to the pound and save a poor pooch from the needle. But the truth was, over time Wyatt would be her savoir. Gale eventually moved back to New York to do her work and Anna shacked up with Crispin and eventually married him several months after the list was finished. So when it was all said and done it was her and Wyatt, and she was cool with that and so was he. The dog she thought she'd never get was the one that saved her in the long run rather than her rescuing him. She couldn't help but admit to herself that Hayden was right, she was finally okay to be a dog owner and that little grey thing on his chair was proof of that and then some.