Rose was a regular 4th grader in England going home from school and feeling kind of empty. That day the teacher talked about the importance of family. Rose is an only child in her family, and her parents work a lot, so much that she barely sees them, she doesn’t even have a pet who she could hang out with. You may think that she could just go to her grandparents, but they sadly live in Southern Ireland, so she doesn’t see them a lot either. Although she doesn’t have company, she has learned many important things about living alone and how to take care of herself. Rose started to feel empty when she heard her classmates talk about their families, their siblings, their pets with a big smile on their faces. She thought about how she would love to have a pet or a little sibling.
That night she waited for her parents to come home so she could ask them if she could get a dog, as it would be easier to take care of. They were first against it, but later gave in and said that the next weekend they would go to the dog shelter together. When Rose heard that, she was so happy that she couldn’t even sleep. The next weekend came and Rose was so happy, she was finally going to get a dog, or better said, she is going to get someone with who she could have fun with, play with and go for walks with. Her mom said that she could choose whatever breed of a dog she wanted, but it had to be a small one because they live in a small house. Rose obviously said yes because, for her, the most important thing was that she was going to get company.
Immediately when they came to the shelter she could only think about how she wanted to adopt all the dogs, every single one of them, but she made a deal with her parents that she could only choose one. When they came inside, they were greeted by loud barking, which for Rose only meant that a long day in the shelter awaited them. A golden retriever was the first dog she saw when they came into the room. She loved how fluffy and playful they were but because of the deal she couldn’t choose him because he was too big. The same was with a Bernadine, whom she wanted to play with so much. After a full two hours of being in the dog shelter, Rose finally found her favourite. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A small, yet adorable puppy with wavy fur, and a small, cute tail. She begged her parents to get him immediately since he fit the deal that they had made and the dog seemed to genuinely like Rose. Her parents had to give in and agreed to adopt him next week because they didn’t prepare anything for the dog in advance. They thought that she wouldn’t choose a dog in the very first shelter that they would go to, anyway. When driving home from the shelter, they were talking about how they would create space and time for the puppy, but Rose reassured them that she would take full responsibility of the dog. She would take him on walks, play with him and even wash him if needed, which her parents reassured her that they would find a salon for dogs near them since dogs don’t need to wash everyday like humas.
They figured out that the dog would sleep inside since the winter was coming up and they didn’t want the dog to freeze outside, so throughout the next week they went shopping and bought a bed for the puppy. Next on their list was food for the dog. Of course, since Rose was curious about how much the food for the dogs cost, she went around the shop to see the prices and was left in shock when she saw that they were very pricey. She wondered how hard it must be to take care of multiple dogs. Toys, bowls and a leash for the puppy were next on their list but there wasn't something special about them.
That week was the longest week in Roses life, she wanted to see the puppy again, which she proudly named Ruru, after her neighbour's dog, a corgi, named Rora that passed away a few years ago. When the week finally passed, they went to the shelter and to bring home a new family member. From ear-to-ear smile on her face was showing her excitement and joy, she couldn’t wait to teach him some tricks. When they came back they gave the dog some food and despite Roses urge to play with Ruru, her parents said no since Ruru didn’t seem to enjoy the ride in the car, her mom explained to her that it was his first time driving in a while or even his first time driving and that he needed to get used to it. From that day everything changed. Although the first day with a puppy was way different from Roses vision, she quickly got used to it. The puppy fell in love with his bed, so much that he would every night, around 8 pm, he would get ready to go to sleep. Even though Rose bought him more balls them plushies, he still loves the plushies more because over time he became lazy and didn’t go after the balls when Rose would through them. They would go on walks together every day, so much that she even started talking out loud to Ruru and he would even bark back like he was understanding everything and answering back.
By the end of the first month, she felt like she had found a someone with who she could talk and play with anytime she wanted. Her parents also got used to having a dog in the house, but it took a lot longer. As time passed by, she saw the benefits of having a pet, not only for her but on the whole family. She even started to go and volunteer in shelter and after a while she got the idea to become a veterinarian.