“How many do you have right now?” Emmie asked as we followed behind.
“We have seventy dogs and about thirty cats. We’re not a kill shelter, so some of them have been here a little while.”
My hand tightened around Emmie’s as the number hit me square in the chest. That was a lot of animals waiting for homes. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one bit.
Wendy led us toward the smaller dog section first. Little faces stared at us through the chain linked fence. A few yipped and wagged their tales, excited to see new faces.
“Can we go inside?” I asked.
“Please do. They would love that.” Wendy grabbed the latch, quickly stepping through the gate, the two of us slipping in after her. My feet were instantly surrounded by dogs. Scruffy ones, long-eared ones, ones with crooked teeth that were beyond adorable.
I let go of Emmie’s hand to squat down, reaching out to offer love to as many as I could reach. Wendy was busy saying something, but I didn’t hear her over the rushing in my ears. I was excited to be here, but I hadn’t fully realized what I was getting myself into by doing this.
Me just being here, taking stupid ass pictures posing with dogs wouldn’t solve anything. I’d get a few likes on a post,maybe some comments…but that was it. It wasn’t real change.
A cute dachshund pawed at my leg and licked eagerly at my hand. I glanced over to find Emmie sitting cross-legged on the floor, a pile of dogs in her lap as they fought for her attention, tongues out and tails swinging. She didn’t even try to stop them, just laughed while they licked her face.
This, right here, was what people needed to see. To feel. They needed to walk in, sit on this floor, and actually connect with one of these animals before taking it home.
A sudden idea formed in my head—a crazy idea, but I hoped it would work.
I stood and turned to Wendy. “Wendy.” My tone was sharper than I intended.
She turned mid-conversation, brows pulling together. “I can—what’s up?”
“Can you call in more staff?”
Her expression shifted, confusion flickering across her face. “I can, why?”
I glanced around the room at the dogs, the kennels, Emmie still sitting on the floor. Something in my chest locked in place, and my idea started to take form.
“Because,” I said, pulling my phone out of my back pocket, “we’re going to find every single one of these animals a home.”
For a second, she just stared at me. Emmie glanced up, absentmindedly petting the pup in her lap with wide eyes. I was going off script, and it would either blow up in my face or work out perfectly.
“Are you… I’m sorry—what did you say?” Wendy seemed at a loss for words.
“There are better ways to help than me just posing for pictures while holding a couple dogs and cats.” I pulled up the giant group chat I had with the entire team on my phoneas I explained. “I have a plan, but we’re going to need more help here.”
Wendy must have noticed how serious I was because she clamped her mouth shut and offered a nod.
Me: Get down to the Humane Society on 64th and Main. Now. Bring everyone who’s free.
The message was blunt, but I knew my team. If I asked them for something, which I rarely did, they’d come through.
Next, I pulled up my agent’s number. Jonathan barely got out a greeting before I started talking.
“I’m not posing for pictures today,” I started off. He made a noise, but I didn’t give him a chance to argue. “We need to do more than that, and I’ve got an idea.”
I ran a hand through my hair, already thinking three steps ahead.
“I want this everywhere. Tell people if they want to adopt, they can come down to the shelter today. The entire Buffalo Titans team will be here. They can meet us, spend time with the dogs and cats, and take one home.”
I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot. Titans fans showed up, so I was banking on them doing the same today.
“Adoption fees, supplies…whatever they need, I’ll cover it.”
Jonathon was quiet for a moment.“Mateo…that’s a lot of money.”
