I only remember parts of my time in the pet shop, for I was only a few weeks old.
The air was always filled with hints of orangey air freshener and earthy chewing bones. Three times a day, someone would come into the room where other dogs and I played to refill the shiny metal water and food bowls. But I still remember clearly when someone would take us outside onto the store’s yellowing front lawn next to a parking lot. There, everything was always changing seemingly unlimited. I loved the darkening and brightening skies that changed the weather from cold to warm and was intrigued by the varying scents of the humans. Why does the sky change? Why do some humans pass unbothered by us, and others stop to pet us? Why is there always a delicious citrusy meat smell coming from the left of the pet store? I was filled with questions about the world.
I wanted to run out into the world and sniff around, but I knew that I couldn’t do that without the pet store's steady supply of food and water.
What will you choose to do?
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