Sofia’s Puppy Love

Friendly Advice

When she gets to the shelter, Sofia immediately rushes to see the dogs. Penny is in the grooming area with an adult volunteer, but the puppies are playing separately. They bark as they see Sofia. Mrs. Wallace hands Sofia a pair of gloves. Trying to ignore her tears, she gently lifts Piper out of the pen and places him on the scale. She marks it on the chart, and realizes that he’s gained some weight since Saturday. Sofia knows she should be happy about that, but she can’t shake her sadness.

Anyway, Sofia knows she has a job to do. She weighs and measures a bottle of formula for Piper. She settles herself into a chair to feed him. She can feel he’s heavier, and his eyes are bright and alert. He licks her face and tries to climb onto her shoulder. Normally this would make Sofia so happy, but today, it just makes her sad. Tears slide down her face as Piper gulps down his bottle.

Mrs. Wallace sits next to Sofia, and asks her what’s wrong. Sofia has trouble finding the words. But finally, she spits out that Mom and Dad won’t let her adopt Piper. Mrs. Wallace pulls Sofia into a warm hug. She knows it’s very disappointing, but there’s still lots of animals at the shelter that still need her each Saturday. Sofia knows Mrs. Wallace is right. But it just isn’t the same.

The next Saturday, Sofia takes a break from volunteering at the shelter. Her parents are busy moving everything out of the spare room so they can paint. Meanwhile, Sofia is sprawling on her bed, reading. But she’s finding it hard to concentrate when the video chat on her computer chimes.

Sofia opens her laptop, and Jasmine’s face appears. Sofia can tell she is in Mrs. Wallace’s office. Madison squeezes into the frame, and asks Sofia where she is. Then Keiko’s face pops in. Sofia smiles sadly at her friends. She still can’t believe she won’t be able to take Piper home. Sofia just couldn’t bear to see him today.

Jasmine nodes understandingly. The puppies all missed Sofia today. Jasmine then states that Penny and Pickle have been adopted. Sofia opens the puppy webcam in a new window. A live video appears on the screen. Five puppies are there, but Penny and Pickle are gone. Keiko explains Penny and Pickle are hanging out in the adoption playroom with their future family. But they won’t be leaving for a few more weeks.

Sofia cries sadly. This is terrible! She didn’t realize the adoptions would start happening so soon. Pretty soon, all the puppies will be adopted and Sofia will never see Piper again! She blew it with her parents. They’ll never think she’ll be a good dog owner now.

Madison encouragingly disagrees with Sofia. She would be a great dog owner! She just needs to find a way to show that she’s responsible enough for a dog. And then maybe her parents will change her mind. Sofia wipes away a tear. It’s worth a try. Keiko adds that if anyone can do it, it’s Sofia.