When we got home, I remembered to call the vet. Thankfully Oscar was right about last-minute appointments, and they had an opening tomorrow morning. It was a trick hauling all the shit up into my apartment and keeping track of Tiger at the same time. I had to lock him inside as I went back and forth, and worried even for that moment he was alone. Maybe I needed to read all those handouts after all.

I set up his food dishes and studied the bag to figure out the instructions. Fortunately, most of what I needed was in infographic form so it didn’t take me forever to figure out. I measured out the food like the bag showed. Tiger knew what to do, and he pounced right on his meal. As soon as he was done, he explored my entire apartment while I put all his doggie things away. I swear he smelled every square inch of the place. Finally he came and sat by me. “Are you satisfied?” I asked him. “Did you smell everything?”

He jumped up and pawed at my knees and I pulled him up onto the couch with me. That was probably against the rules, but right now I didn’t know what the rules were so I was rolling with it while I could claim ignorance. But being on the couch wasn’t enough for him. He wouldn’t settle down and kept pacing and pulling at me.

“Do you need to go out?” I asked him. Oh god, I bet this was when I needed to get a plastic bag. Considering some of the shit I have dealt with in my life, (ha, ha) I squared my shoulders and got his leash. I got him outside just in time and took him to an inconspicuous spot. Cleaning up after him was no big deal. I threw the bag in the dumpster and decided to take him on a little walk around the block.

He was excited to go somewhere new, and he attracted a lot of attention. Everyone wanted to pet him, and he took it mostly in stride. If someone was really loud or too assertive, he backed away or alternately the fur on his little neck stood up and he looked defensive. I learned to remind people to approach him slowly, speak softly, and not make sudden movements.

I found myself repeating the same sentences as I introduced all my curious neighbors to Tiger. “He’s still a little puppy.”  “Yes, you can pet him, just don’t scare him.” “Touch him softly, he likes it when you rub him behind his ears.”

After a while, Tiger had enough walking and sat down on the sidewalk, his little pink tongue hanging out. “Had all the fun you can stand?” He looked up at me, the whites of his eyes showing. He lolled his head to the side.

I picked him up and carried him home. “I thought dalmatians were high energy,” I said to him. He just put his velvet head down on my arm and closed his eyes.

It was like he was telling me the same thing I told everyone he met. He’s still a little puppy.

“That’s okay, Tiger. I’ll carry you.” And I carried him home.

Back on the couch, I settled with him on my lap and pulled out the papers Oscar gave me. So much reading. Everyone I talked to wanted to give me a pile of reading. Why couldn’t they  just tell me? I could remember anything someone said.

I sighed and pushed my way through them, as much as I could. The papers said he was supposed to spend the night in the crate, but I didn’t see how that was going to happen. Maybe I’ll wait for Oscar’s help on that. Or…I’ll do it after Tiger’s nap.

After a while my head hurt, so I laid down on the couch and pulled Tiger’s snoozing shape next to me.

I cuddled with him, enjoying his warmth and the rhythm of his breathing. He was so simple, yet miraculous. His life filled my apartment. It was like a new place with him there.

He stirred a little while later and I set up the crate and bedding. Tiger wasn’t impressed. He went in okay, but then he wanted out. When I closed the door, and walked away, he cried.

My stomach twisted, listening to him cry. Now what? I had that card Oscar gave me. I could text him. I pulled it out of my pocket and contemplated it.

That seemed a drastic move. He’ll think I’m incompetent. The paper said to let him cry. Evan and Amanda said he would be okay in the crate.

A huge lump lodged in my throat as I walked into my room and got ready for bed. He cried in the other room, locked in his crate. It made my heart hurt.

Fuck.

I got ready as fast as I could, and then took a pillow and blanket into the living room and laid on the floor in front of the crate. I put my hand inside, and he nestled as close to it as he could, and we spent the night like that. Me on the floor, in front of his crate, with my hand through the bars, reassuring my new puppy.

It was a long night, but not as long as it would have been if I’d let him cry.

I’ll count it as a win that he stayed in the box. I wanted Oscar to be impressed, but sleeping on the floor like that was probably pathetic.

I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

The next morning at the crack of dawn my doorbell rang. Then the loud knocking started. I heard the doorbell, why did people do that? It’s not like I lived in a mansion and I might not hear the doorbell.

Impatient asshole.

I wanted to yell, but I didn’t want to scare Tiger, who was happily munching away on his breakfast.

I wrenched the door open, still blinking at the daylight. My landlord stood on my doorstep and glared at me. “You have a dog in here?”

I knew I couldn’t argue. I think it was against my lease to have a dog, or else maybe I had to clear a dog with him. I couldn’t remember. Who told him so fast? “He just kind of fell into my lap yesterday,” I said. I rubbed my hair back and forth on top of my head.

He peered around me into my apartment. I shifted my stance to block him. I knew my rights.

“You can’t have a dog in here,” he scowled.

“I was going to call you today and get him added to my lease,” I sighed. God, why was he being such an ass?

“You can’t add a dog to your lease. It’s almost up anyway,” he said. He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked.

Fuck.

He knew he had me, so he added with a gleam in his eye. “The dog has to go.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. Like hell the dog was going. “I’m not getting rid of the dog. If he goes, I go.”

“No problem,” he said. “I have a renter who wants this place. Be out by the end of the week. I’ll let you out of your lease early.”

I gritted my teeth. “That’s so…generous of you,” I said. I stepped back and closed the door in his face.

Great. Now I had a new problem to solve.