I have a dog! I get to keep the dog!

I looked over at Tiger who was nestled up against me on the seat of the truck, and caged my hand over him in a possessive embrace.

He looked up at me and thumped his tail and then lay his head down on the seat. Was he getting tired? He looked tired. I knew next to nothing about puppies.

“We’re going to the pet store buddy,” I said. “You need a collar and a leash and food and toys and god knows what else.”

I had another stack of papers to study. Great. I knew I couldn’t ask Oscar to come to the store with me, but damn, combing through handouts and then a list was going to be time consuming. I could feel the headache already.

We pulled into the parking lot, lucking into a front and center spot. I always got good parking spots. It was one of my only skills, but it came in handy as a fireman. You’d be surprised how many people park their cars where they shouldn’t, which cause serious problems during emergencies.

The guys even figured out I was the parking genie, so when I was on duty, they’d have me drive.

“I hope you’re allowed in the store,” I told Tiger. He looked at me expectantly, as if he had no doubt he was invited everywhere. I pulled him close  and climbed out of the truck. I set him on a patch of grass to see if he needed to go before we went inside and prayed that he wouldn’t leave a mess.

Everyone said he was trouble, but some kinds of trouble were worse than others. I wanted to figure out what the hell I was doing, or what I was up against, before events threw too many complications into this dog ownership thing.

Tiger did not leave anything in the lawn that I had to take care of, and as soon as he finished, he picked his way through the grass and leaned against my leg, ready to be picked up.

“Good boy!” I pulled him back up into my arm and let his belly rest in the crook of my elbow. I hadn’t even had him a full day, and I was so used to having him around. Is this what having a dog is like? Always having a friend with you?

What would my childhood have been like if I’d had a dog friend? Except, they never would have let me keep one, so it’s just as well. I shook those thoughts away and focused on the here and now.

A sign on the door said, “Pets Welcome.”

Maybe today really was my lucky day.

We went inside and I realized maybe I should have brought the blanket from the car to cushion Tiger’s ride in the cart. I turned around to go get it when a squeal interrupted my mission.

“Oh my god, a dalmatian puppy!” A girl with thick red hair, in a long braid down her back, and shining green eyes practically materialized in front of me. She clapped her hands together. “He’s so cute! Evan, come see the puppy!”

“Just a sec!” a male voice called from the back of the store.

Evan appeared a moment later. He looked just like this girl but in a male version. I looked at them, back and forth.

“Yes, we’re twins,” Evan said. As if eager to move on from the topic, he looked at the stack of papers in my hand. “Do you need some help?”

“I do,” I said, relieved for help. “I just got this puppy, but wasn’t planning on him, so I have to get all the stuff he needs. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Hmm, let me see,” Evan held his hand out and I gave him my list and the stack of papers.

“We can help you gather all this, a lot of it is just knowing where it is in the store. A few things require decisions. Maybe we should start with the collar and his name tag?”

Oh, name tag. This dog thing became more real every milestone that went by.

“I can make the tag,” Amanda said. “What’s his name?”

I hesitated for a moment, and then couldn’t hold my grin back any longer. “Meet Tiger!” A burst of pride filled me, and Evan and Amanda both smiled wide.

“Tiger!” she said. “Nice to meet you Tiger!” She tentatively reached out toward his snowy head and black ears and then said, “Can I pet him?”

“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”

“Hello Tiger,” she crooned. He sniffed her hand as she stroked his head, and licked her with his pink tongue. “He’s so cute! You have to bring him in all the time.”

It occurred to me that I was going to have to bring him everywhere all the time, wasn’t I? What did people do? I decided to ask Oscar tomorrow.

I knew people had dogs and didn’t take them everywhere unless they lived in a purse or something, so there must be a solution. I couldn’t fathom leaving Tiger home alone. Anxiety gripped my chest.

“Hey, are you okay?” Eric furrowed his brow and looked at me over my papers.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I re-situated Tiger in my arms, and looked around for the display signs. “Let’s go look at collars.”

“Are you really a fireman?” Evan said, as we walked, looking at the embroidery on my polo shirt.

Was this my new reality? All of the fireman reaction plus dalmatian? I was such a stereotype. The universe had a funny sense of humor.

I smiled at him, already patient with the question. Why not embrace the ridiculousness of my life? “Yep, I am really a fireman and I really have a dalmatian,” I laughed.

Evan laughed. “So obviously you want a red collar for Tiger here, right? I mean we do have a tiger striped collar, but…”

“I think that would clash with his coat, as hilarious as that would be. Considering I am a walking cliche, let’s get him a red collar. I mean, if you were a fireman with a dalmatian would you get any other collar color?”

Evan laughed out loud. “My dog has a red collar and she’s a labradoodle so, obviously I would get a red collar for a dalmatian too.”

I didn’t know what the hell a labradoodle was, but I didn’t want to let him know that. I could look it up later. We picked out the collar and Evan helped me get the rest of the stuff.

The cart didn’t even hold it all. Thank god I had a truck. They had to convince me Tiger needed a crate. “It’s like a wolf den for him!” they said. “That’s where he needs to sleep!”

It looked like a cage to me.

I tried to keep my skepticism to myself, and I wanted to prove to Oscar that I could be a good dog owner by adhering to his list. So into the pile went the dog crate.

After I paid for everything, Amanda put the TIGER tag on his red collar and handed it to me. “He’s your dog, so you can do the honors.” She rubbed her hands together and jumped a little. I guess this would be a fun job when a puppy came into the store. I couldn’t begrudge them their excitement.

Hell, I was excited too.

I savored the moment, rubbing the smooth bumpy webbing between my fingers. I sat Tiger sat on the counter by the cash register — no one seemed to mind. He looked up at me with the same trust he did earlier when I thought I had to let him go.

Except this time, I was claiming him. Keeping him. I put the collar around his neck and snapped it into place. Amanda and Evan clapped, and happiness burst through me.

Suddenly he looked like a proper dog who belonged to someone. I couldn’t resist, and I ran both hands up and down his neck and ears, petting and ruffling his fur.

“You’re my dog now, Tiger! It’s you and me!” This riled him up and he started play growling and batting at my hands, his little puppy ‘rawrf’ noises echoing on the white tile floor of the pet store.

“Congratulations!” Amanda said. “It’s always a happy day when you get a dog.”

She and Evan helped carry all the crap I just bought out to the truck and I secured it all with bungees and motorcycle tie downs. That crate wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was Tiger — unless it was with me.