She immediately perks up. “We’re open eight to eight every day. Sometimes we work later than that, but we could use volunteers any time during business hours.”
“Okay, I’m in. Can I sign up now, or…?”
“We only have a couple of hours until closing, but if you want, you can fill out the forms, and I’ll let you help for the rest of the evening, so you can get a feel for it.”
I nod as she starts sifting through papers on the side of the counter. I wait patiently until she lays them out for me, clicking a black pen and setting it on top of the papers. “Thanks,” I tell her.
“More likethank you,” she replies, breathing out sharply. “We’re over capacity right now, but I don’t have the budget to hire any help. I feel like people don’t have time to volunteer as much as they used to. Life is just too demanding.”
“Yeah, I work, but other than that…” My voice trails off as I realize I might embarrass myself. “I think this’ll be good for me.”
“It’s always good to volunteer,” she emphasizes. “I’ll be right back.” With that, she scurries off through another door, and the sound of dogs barking gets louder.
I chuckle to myself, feeling somewhat sorry for the woman rushing around the way she is. It makes me wonder if she’s just that stressed, or ifbeing stressedis a part of her personality. I’ve met people before who just live in a constant state of stress because they can … and are probably addicted to cortisol or something.
I finish filling out the details and then lean against the wall, waiting for the woman to return from the back. While doing so, I pull out my phone, scrolling through what little notifications I have. Now that Parker and Amy are always together, he doesn’t text as much. I don’t blame him for it, though, because I know I’d be the same way if I had finally found my soulmate, too.
“You filled it all out?” the woman calls to me, slipping back behind the counter.
I push myself up off the wall, rolling my shoulders. “Yep, I did.”
“Weston,” she says aloud, looking up over the top of the papers as she finishes flipping through them. “Are you ready to get to work?”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
“Cool.” She smiles. “I’m Maria. I’ll let you exercise a few of the high-energy residents here. They’re about to lose their minds in their kennels.”
“Fair enough. I can’t say I blame them.” I chuckle as I follow Maria through the back door and am met with rows of kennels and dogs. Some of them look happy, wagging their tails and barking as we make our way past, and others tug at my heart strings, appearing overwhelmed or depressed.
I want to hug them all.
“This is Rambo.” Maria stops at a kennel of a large mutt of sorts. I’m not sure if he’s part shepherd or part mammoth, but either way, he’s bouncing off the chain link kennel he’s kept in. “I highly recommend just letting him off the leash in the exercise area instead of trying to take him for a walk. He doesn’t like the crowd.”
“I get that.” I take in the sight of him, his dark fur brindled toward his back. He has a long muzzle but kind of floppy ears. Honestly, he’s hideous. But in the cutest kind of way.
“Enjoy.” She smiles at me, holding out a leash.
I take it from her, then spend the next few minutes struggling to get Rambo under control. He makes it clear within the first thirty seconds that he’d rather avoid the leash at all costs. Before I let myself get frustrated, however, I kneel in the kennel and just stop trying.
Rambo looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, tilting his head in confusion. I brace for him to come running, knocking me over on the concrete floor, but he doesn’t. Instead, he sits down, mimicking my own position.
“He’s a funny dog.” Maria laughs from outside the kennel. “I don’t know how he hasn’t found a home yet.”
“He’s the size of Texas, that’s why.” I laugh, and the sound of my voice must be somewhat comforting to Rambo, because he scoots a little closer to me. “If I had a dog, I’d have one his size. That would be way too much fun.”
“And a lot of food needed to feed him.” She chuckles, just as Rambo inches close enough to me that his shoulder touches myshoulder. “I think he likes you though. He can sense you’re a good person. I always bring the volunteers to him first. He vets them for me.”
“So…” I frown. “I’m not supposed to exercise him then?”
She gives me a warm smile. “Of course you can exercise him, and any of the other forty-three dogs we have here. I don’t currently have any cats, surprisingly, but the dogs are enough to stay busy. Someone adopted the rabbit I had this morning.”
“That’s cool,” I say, and as I do, I slip the leash over the top of Rambo’s head, ensuring to give him a good pat once it’s on. I stand to my feet, then guide him to the kennel door.
“So, what made you want to volunteer?” Maria asks. She eyes my slacks and pullover, a smile tugging at her mouth. “You don’t exactly look like you planned on getting covered in dog hair tonight.”
I huff a quiet laugh. “Yeah, well, I was supposed to be at a singles event.”
Her brows lift.
