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The pound is a bad job.
It’s not that Jude doesn’t like animals, they do, they’re just really not into the fact that they will be killed. And the amount of people willing to take them in….
It’s not ideal. Even if they’re puppies, there’s no guarantee that anyone will come in before they lose their charm…and no matter how hard you try, there’s no guarantee that someone will chance a big dog.
So, the pound sucks. It’s full of decent people in tough situations, and barely ever has the saving grace of people who are actually willing to take on an animal, and look after them well.
Speaking of, a Billy Idol looking man saunters up to the desk, plopping a puppy on the counter.
“I’d like to check her in.” He says, with an attitude.
Ugh. They hate guys like these.
“Is there any particular reason, or..?”
“Well, she’s a nuisance. She keeps biting my television wires, and she’s not even mine in the first place, someone just dumped her on me. I don’t know what I’m doing with her, and I am not a dog person. So. Take her in.” He looks awkward, like he wants to just run, but instead, he just pushes her closer to Jude.
They hate him right now. He’s seriously throwing a dog away over a TV?
“Well,” they start, and take a breath to try and take a better look at this. The guy looks like he’s trying desperately hard to be punk but the way he’s looking at the dog is full of nerves, and they don’t want the poor creature to be stuck here for long, so they smile, blow the breath out and, “What’s your name, sir?”
“Spike. what do you need my name for?”
Jude smiles at that, “Is that your birth name or-?”
“No, I chose it myself, why? Do you need my birth name?” They look nervous, and Jude rushes to reassure them,
“Oh, no I don’t need that, just- I like it. Good choice. Very punk.”
“Yeah, well. I practically invented punk.”
Jude wants to roll their eyes. Trans or not, this guy sure is full of themself.
“I’m sure. I’m Jude, and that’s not my birth name either. I need to tell you a few things about this shelter before we proceed. Is that ok?”
They sniff, “Yeah, alright. I got nowhere to be.”
“Great! So, we all love animals here, as you’d probably bet, with us being an animal shelter and all, but we’re very overcrowded at the moment.”
“Right, ok.”
“So, if your dog ..?”
“Bubbles.”
“Well, if Bubbles doesn’t find an owner in 3 months, then she will probably be put to sleep.”
“Put to sleep?”
“Put down, um..euthanised…” they’re running out of euphemisms, “humanely…destroyed?”
“Humanely…” Spike looks outraged, and snatches the small dog off the counter, “You’ll KILL her?”
“Well….for lack of a better way of putting it, yes. It’s not my decision, believe me. And we try to make sure their last few months are full of joy, but…ultimately…we don’t have space for all of Sunnydale’s pets.”
Spike blinks at Jude, “And I’m the one without a soul.”
“If you’d like to keep Bubbles, I’d suggest you get her checked over at the vets. The one down the road is 24 hours.”
“Right. Yeah. I will. Thanks for nothing.” He storms out, and Jude just shakes their head.
Some people.