Laura ran to the large cage that Jim pointed out. It was swarming with young German shepherd dogs.

"Oh! They're beautiful! But they don't look at all like puppies to me." She put a finger through the cage.

The owner said, "Oh, they'll get even bigger, miss. Wait and see." He then proceeded to give Laura instructions on how to care for the animal. Jim wrote them down for her, because he could see that she wasn't paying much attention to the man. It may have been the drinks, or the dog that was licking Laura's finger. She was talking baby talk to it as he licked.

"It looks like you chose one, hon." laughed Betty.

"No. It chose her," said Jim.

"That's the one I want. That one!" said Laura, very excited and breathless. "He likes me already!"

"Maybe he's hungry. Maybe that's why he came up to you," teased Jim.

"No. He likes me," insisted Laura, giving her first sincere smile of the evening. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

Betty and Jim exchanged a happy look. They hadn't known about any special troubles that Laura might have had, but they were pretty sure that she must have been lonely.

They bought all sorts of supplies: dishes, toys, brushes, a leash, and food. Then they headed for the car. Jim tried at first to carry the big dog, but he was too heavy. They didn't feel like bothering with the leash for such a short walk, as the puppy had never worn one before, so they led him to the car. The dog seemed very happy to trot along next to Laura. He stayed very close to her.

"You can't tell me that he doesn't like me. Look how close he's staying to me," she gloated to Jim.

"He must smell the steak you just ate," continued Jim with the teasing, as everyone laughed.

They all piled into the car, and the huge dog half sat on Laura, nearly crushing her. But she didn't mind. It was a warm, wonderful feeling having a pet. She liked having him so close to her, even though he was very heavy.