Leila

    Leila had had enough.

    She was constantly being left somewhere, lost. Until she was found and sent to another shelter. Always, lost and found, lost and found. Never kept.

    Leila was a Border collie with a beautiful, long, black coat and two different colored eyes. She was also missing one of her back legs because it got caught in a fence once when she was lost.

    Leila had thought the time she was found with her leg caught in the fence, the person would keep her. But she didn’t. That person ended up getting pregnant and dropping Leila off at the nearest animal shelter, saying she couldn’t have such a big dog with a newborn baby in the house.

    Leila was grateful to this person for not leaving her in the middle of nowhere, where she would be lost again. She was grateful for this person who saved her when she couldn’t save herself. But she was sad too…she would’ve loved a little human brother or sister.

    This time Leila had been at the animal shelter a long time. At least it felt that way. Every time a new person would come to her cage, Leila would stand to greet them. She would put on her most friendly face. People would comment on her different colored eyes and her beautiful coat. Leila would feel hopeful until…

    “Her back leg is missing!”

    “Oh...”

    And usually, people would walk away.

    Leila would whimper softly and lay down. Of course. People weren’t usually concerned about the different colored eyes but the leg, they were for some reason.

    Leila always wondered why she never stayed in a home. She was a beautiful dog, she knew this, and she was well behaved. She just required…exercise. She wanted to play Frisbee…a lot. Her past owners, well, they didn’t seem to enjoy this as much as Leila did. Leila couldn’t figure it out. Frisbee is life! It’s fun! What’s the problem?

    Yet again, her owners would put her in the car. Leila would get hopeful and excited. Her owners would let her out in a place where there’s a lot of room to run and Leila would, happily.

    Until she heard her owners drive off.

    Not again.

    Leila could never figure out what was wrong with her. Well, now she had three legs, but before that. Had she not been a good girl? Did she eat too much? Play too much?

    Leila always tried her best but it was never good enough.

    It was a normal day at the animal shelter. Dogs barking like crazy, Leila couldn’t stand the noise. It hurt her ears. The people who worked at the shelter came through and gave all the dogs their food and water. That was Leila’s favorite part of the day. Leila was hungry all the time. Weighing at least 50 pounds, she always felt like she could eat everything in sight. She wasn’t sure if this was normal but it had become normal from all the years of being in a cage in a shelter somewhere.

    Leila didn’t like to think negatively about her situation but she really wanted to have a home and an owner that loved her. She wanted a big yard to run around in and play for long hours with her owner. She didn’t care about what her owner looked like or how old they would be, she just wanted to be loved.

    After inhaling her bowl of food and drinking her water, Leila laid down and listened to the dogs barking. Why did they bark so much anyway? It’s not like it would change anything.

    Soon, the barking became louder and more urgent. This usually meant that someone was coming to look for a dog. Leila sprang to her feet. Along with the barking, she heard a small, repetitive clink sound. She looked through her cage and saw a slow moving old man. His back was hunched over at his shoulders. He had black hair and light brown skin. He moved slowly through each cage, leaning on his cane, studying each dog intently, reading the signs that described each dog carefully.

    Leila felt the usual hopeful feeling in her heart. This could be the one! She waited patiently for the man to come to her cage. She was ready. She had her friendly face on.

    Finally, there he was.

    The two of them stared into each other’s eyes. There was a look on the man’s face that she couldn’t read. Leila cocked her head to the side. She made a small, quizzical noise. Why was he looking at her that way? What did that mean?

    After reading Leila’s sign and looking at her for a few minutes, the man quietly walked away. He didn’t say anything. Not a word.

    Leila didn’t know what to think. What does that mean? Usually people had always said something when they came to her cage even if they weren’t interested in her.

    Leila sank back down to the floor in defeat. What does it matter anyway? He was probably going to get some other dog.

    Time had passed. Leila was wondering when they would get to eat again. All of sudden, the barking got more urgent again. Leila got on her feet. She looked. It was one of the people who worked there. They were moving down the row and they stopped at her cage.

    Leila started wagging her tail. She couldn’t contain herself. She didn’t know what this meant, but she couldn’t wait to find out.

    The person put Leila on a leash. They started walking down the row of cages. Wait a minute, where are we going? Leila thought.

    Was Leila…getting adopted?

    Soon, they were in the lobby of the animal shelter. Leila took in her surroundings and began to get nervous. What was happening? It had been so long since she’d been adopted, she didn’t know what to think.

    The old man was in the lobby, the one who came to her cage earlier. He was writing something. He looked up when the person holding Leila’s leash approached. He smiled at Leila.

    Leila’s heart swelled. She was getting adopted! She was getting adopted by this man! He smiled at her! This was going so well already!

    The man finished writing and gave the clipboard in his hand to the person at the counter. He turned to Leila, and petted her head gently.

    “Leila…what a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

    Leila’s tail wagged. He was so nice. Why did he want Leila and not one of the other dogs? Was she really so lucky to be going home with him?

    “You’re all set, Mr. Bays,” said the person behind the counter. “Goodbye, Leila! I hope you two have a wonderful life together!”

    This was it. Leila was leaving the animal shelter, she was getting adopted by a man named Mr. Bays. He thought she was beautiful!

    Mr. Bays drove a white truck. He opened the passenger door for Leila to climb inside. She did, happily. He walked around the driver’s seat and climbed in. He started the engine and they were off.

    The whole way home, Mr. Bays used one hand to rub Leila’s head and neck. Leila was ecstatic. She couldn’t remember the last time someone petted her like this.

    Soon, they pulled into a driveway. Leila couldn’t believe it. This place could be her “forever” home. She had constantly heard that phrase while staying in various shelters over the years and never really understood what it meant.

    Mr. Bays’ house was white and it appeared to be very small. Leila didn’t mind. When they got closer to the house, she could see several bird feeders on the back porch. Leila loved to watch the birds. Her previous owners always assumed Leila would eat the birds, but it never crossed her mind.

    “Here we are.” Mr. Bays opened the driver’s side door and got out of the truck. He came around to the passenger side and opened the door for Leila.

    Feelings of anticipation ran through Leila’s body. She couldn’t wait to see what the house was like on the inside.

    Mr. Bays’ house was…spotless. It looked like no one lived there. There was hardly anything on the kitchen counters and nothing on the dining room table. The chairs were pushed in and there were also no dirty dishes in the sink.

    Mr. Bays drew Leila’s attention to the floor, where he had set up bowls in the corner. The bowls sat on a mat to keep them from slipping. There were two bowls, one for food and one for water.

    “Are you hungry?” Mr. Bays asked.

    Leila started wagging her tail uncontrollably. Her mouth was open, her tongue was hanging out. Of course, she was hungry. She was always hungry!

    Mr. Bays opened a door to a pantry and scooped a cup of food out of a bag. He poured the cup into one of the bowls. He did this twice. Leila was thrilled. So much food! She ate it happily. While she ate, Mr. Bays poured water into the other bowl.

    After Leila had eaten her food, she sat down and stared at Mr. Bays. He stared at her. Leila couldn’t wait to find out what they would do next.

    “Oh! Almost forgot.” Mr. Bays walked out of the kitchen and went into another room. Leila apprehensively followed him. She wasn’t sure if she should follow him but he hadn’t told her to stay. Mr. Bays was looking for something in a plastic shopping bag.

    “Here it is!” He said triumphantly, holding up a Frisbee.

    A Frisbee! Yes! Leila started wagging her tail again.

    “They said at the shelter that you loved playing with a Frisbee so I figured I should get one so we can play.”

    He wanted to play with her? Leila’s heart overflowed with happiness.

    People seem to think that Leila can’t play as much because she only has three legs. This is not the case. Leila played just as energetically as any other dog her size with four legs. Mr. Bays and Leila played until Leila just couldn’t run after a Frisbee anymore. Mr. Bays threw a good Frisbee, but he seemed to stay in one spot, leaning on his cane for support. So, Leila tried to remember to bring the Frisbee back to him. He could throw a Frisbee so high and so fast, Leila had to really push herself to catch it. There were a few times Leila caught the Frisbee in the air and Mr. Bays cheered. It seemed like he was proud of her and it made Leila feel amazing.

    Afterwards, Leila and Mr. Bays went inside the house. Leila drank more of her water from the bowl, and when she finished, Mr. Bays refilled it. He also gave her these treats that were similar to bacon. Leila had never had anything so delicious before!

    Mr. Bays turned to leave after giving Leila treats. He paused, then looked back at her.

    “Come on, baby!” He beckoned.

    Leila followed curiously.

    They came to a room with plush, soft couches. Mr. Bays sat down on one and patted the seat next to him.

    “Come here!” He was talking to her again.

    Leila was confused. She was never allowed on the couch in her other homes. She didn’t want to do anything that would make Mr. Bays take her back to the animal shelter. She was having a great time so far and wanted to stay, forever if possible.

    Mr. Bays patted the seat again. “Come on!”

    Leila was still not sure. But he kept insisting.

    “It’s okay, baby girl. Come on!” More patting.

    Timidly, Leila put her head down. When she did, she saw a flash of something. It was Mr. Bays’ leg. It was…different than other human legs she had seen. His leg was thinner and it was the same color as her cage at the shelter.

    Leila realized that maybe she and Mr. Bays had more in common than she originally thought.

    She hopped up on the couch.

    “Good girl, Leila. You’re my good girl,” Mr. Bays cooed at her.

    Leila had never felt so warm in her life. She was never allowed on the couch. Her owners never wanted to play with her until she was tired. She never got to eat such amazing treats. Her past owners had also never petted her nearly as much as Mr. Bays had the first day they were together. Leila was so happy at this moment.

    Eventually, she started to get sleepy. She curled up on her couch cushion and laid down. It was so much softer than the floor in her cage at the shelter. Mr. Bays kept petting her and telling her how beautiful and good she was.

    Leila’s heart was beating fast. It felt like it was...fluttering? What does that mean? Leila had never felt this way before. She was getting so sleepy too. It was always so hard for Leila to sleep at the shelter because of all the barking. Here with Mr. Bays, it was quiet except for a low murmur from the TV and the sounds of their breathing.

    “I hope you had a great day today, little one,” Mr. Bays spoke above her head. “I had the best day I’ve had in a long time...I’m so happy you’re here. You will be so loved in my home. I want you to be here for as long as possible.”

    Leila’s eyes opened. He loved her? Her? Was he sure? No one had ever loved her before. At least she didn’t think so.

    Leila looked up at Mr. Bays. They locked eyes again, just like they did at the shelter hours before. There was that look from earlier. What was that look? Was it...love?

    Is this love?

    Leila sighed and put her head on Mr. Bays’ lap. He petted her head softly.

    She fell asleep happier than ever before.