Sofia’s Puppy Love
A Dream Come True
It’s two weeks later, and Sofia is joining her friends at the animal shelter. As they had for the past two weeks, they head straight for the puppies. Now they’re starting to look like their mother, an adorable mix of beagle and hound, with floppy ears and clumsy paws.
Jasmine announces that Poppy is her favorite, because she’s so curious. Madison says Pickle is always doing his favorite thing: eating. Jasmine says puppies spend most of their time eating and sleeping during the first few weeks. Keiko laughs and jokes as she watches Princess and Peanut together.
Sofia loves all the puppies, but her favorite is Piper. During every visit to the shelter, she charts his weight and temperature. She feeds him from a bottle as he lays in her arms. And he has a cute patch of white fur on his snout that’s shaped like a heart. Sofia explains he’s a little behind in weight gain. Piper should be doubling his weight in the first week, and then gain 5-10% more each week after. Although he does eat, he never finishes a bottle.
Jasmine points out that he always falls asleep during mealtime. Sofia glances down to see Piper’s eyes closed, even though his mouth is still on the bottle. Sofia gently bumps him up and down to wake him up, but to no avail: he’s out cold. Sofia puts the bottle down and writes down how much he ate.
Madison peers over Sofia’s shoulder, and is surprised to see detailed notes about the weights and temperatures of all of the puppies. Jasmine agrees Sofia has been very busy! But all Sofia cares about is the snoozing puppy in her arms.
When Sofia’s parents come to pick her up, Sofia eagerly brings them over to look at the puppies. Piper is fast asleep under a heat lamp, his paws twitching as he dreams. Sofia’s mom agrees that he’s pretty adorable. Mrs. Wallace says Sofia is doing a wonderful job with him. Especially as she gets the puppy webcam set up, she’ll need all the help she can get. They’re hoping the puppy webcam will get people interested in adopting all of the pups.
Sofia feels her heart sink. Although she hopes the puppies all find forever homes, she is sad at thinking of them leaving the shelter. Sofia turns to her parents. They can adopt Piper and take him home right away! Sofia knows exactly what Piper needs and how to take care of him.
Sofia’s mom turns to face her. Puppies are a lot of hard work. And they’re all preoccupied at home. They’re busy renovating the spare bedroom, Sofia plays soccer, and has school. And the adults are busy at work all day. They wouldn’t have anybody home to walk, feed, and play with a puppy. It’s just not a good time to bring home a puppy.
Sofia has a lump in her throat. Her dreams of adopting Piper are slipping through her fingers. She begs, stating that she can take care of him! She’s the puppy expert! Jasmine, who has been watching across the hallway with Keiko and Madison, agrees.
Sofia’s mother begins to soften. She understands that Sofia has been wanting a puppy for a long time, and she has been working hard…
Mrs. Wallace interrupts. None of the puppies are ready to go to their forever home yet. They all need to stay with their mother for at least eight weeks.
Sofia’s parents look at each other, speaking in silent parent speak. Finally, her father turns to Sofia. He tells Sofia that if she can show them that she can continue to help out with Piper while keeping up with soccer and schoolwork, then when Piper’s old enough, they can take him home.
Sofia gasps. She’s so ecstatic. She’s finally getting a puppy of her own.