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Rinoa seemed very stressed as she walked quickly down the cobblestones of Balamb Town. But Angelo didn’t mind that; she could only be excited when she and her favorite person arrived at a door and the air around it smelled of food. Rinoa knocked impatiently until a familiar face opened the door.
Before Zell could say anything, Rinoa pushed her armload of bags into him. Then she reached down and unclasped Angelo’s leash.
“Go inside,” Rinoa commanded.
Angelo walked in and put her nose to the floor.
“Hey! What’s the rush?” Zell yelled from behind the mound of stuff. He walked backward into his living room and Rinoa followed.
Rinoa sighed.
“Sorry, I’m sorry, I just don’t want to miss our train. We really appreciate you watching her on such short notice… I can’t believe our old sitter ghosted us.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course… You know I can’t say no to the Commander,” Zell said. “You’re just lucky Ma’s away for the weekend.”
Zell plopped the bags down and looked at the pile of supplies in dismay.
“Uhhh, mind telling me what all this is?”
Angelo padded into the kitchen and sniffed around the stove, looking for remnants of cooked fish on the floor.
“It’s for Angelo, of course!”
“…Isn’t she only here for two days?”
“Yeah, but you know, she gets so stir crazy without me, it’s important to make her feel like she’s home…”
Rinoa took a glimpse down at her wrist and then started to speak quickly.
“Okay, I didn’t have time to write down her care instructions… Do you want to grab a paper and pen?”
Zell shrugged. “I’m sure I can remember it.”
Rinoa took a deep breath.
“Okay, so for food, I gave you the bag, she gets one cup in the morning, one cup at night. She’s used to eating at 7 am and 6 pm—”
“Hey, that’s easy enough—”
“—I also packed the sodium-free beef stock… I add that into all her meals. You’re going to have to heat it up and make sure it’s proper soup temperature and won’t burn her tongue. Add enough so the food is wet, not flooded. She won’t eat it if it’s like mush or cereal. In the morning, make sure you add a fried egg. FRIED. Medium yolk. Don’t break it, she hates that.
“At dinner you want to add Geezard gizzards. Rinse them when they come out of the can but leave them cold. Then add the Fastitocalon fin sprinkles. She’ll whine until you do. At lunch, give her sushi. Is there a sushi place around here? Well, I packed all the stuff to make it just in case. One Maki roll should work. Then she has her training treats, her dental chews, her calming treats, the peanut butter for her puzzle toy—”
“HYNE RIN, HOW MUCH DOES THIS DOG EAT?!”
Angelo heard all her favorite snacks being mentioned and came over to investigate. She sat happily at Zell’s feet and looked up at Rinoa, begging.
“What do you think fuels all those tricks she does?”
Rinoa leaned down and palmed Angelo a hard, bone-shaped biscuit. Angelo crunched gratefully.
Rinoa straightened.
“Right. So the tricks. You have to tire her out. I really mean it. You have to tire her out, otherwise she’ll freak. I know you’ve seen her moves, so do those with her. You know, take her to the forest to train or something. But she knows a couple of smaller tricks, too, if the weather’s no good,” Rinoa said. “Isn’t that right, Angelo? Angelo, sit. Now stand! Down…”
Angelo followed each command dutifully.
“Angelo, paw!”
Angelo emphatically slapped her left paw into Rinoa’s hand.
“Now, other paw!”
Excitedly, the dog gave Rinoa her second front paw.
“Good job!” Rinoa cheered, giving Angelo a few quick head scratches.
“… I can’t believe Squall puts up with all this…” Zell mumbled. Angelo could hear it, but maybe Rinoa didn’t.
“Some other tricks she knows… turn, jump, speak, stay, bow, come, play dead, roll over, high five, drop it, wait, up, handstand, fetch, army crawl, play the piano—”
“Your dog can play the piano?!”
“Zell, I need to get through this or I’m going to miss my train!
“Where were we? Okay, so you need to wake up at 5 am and walk her, two miles minimum. Definitely rub her paws down after. There’s an ointment for her paw pads in the bag. Then she gets breakfast, and she’ll want to nap after. Do some tricks with her when she gets up, she’ll let you know when it’s sushi time. Do you have cable? There’s this trashy soap opera I watch around 3 that she loves, too. You can brush her while you watch that together. Sometimes she gets playful in the afternoons, and you can toss her a ball, but you have to pick the right one. There is always a right one. Short walk before dinner, dinner, a little rest and then another long walk before bed. She goes to bed at 10. Is it okay if she sleeps in your bed? That’s how she sleeps best.”
At this point, Zell had located an envelope and marker. He was frantically writing what he could.
“Water should always be out for her, 52 degrees Fahrenheit exactly. If it gets warmer then that, refresh it. And make sure you handwash her bowl every time.
“Have all her toys out. Put one stuffie in every room in case she feels the need to chew. Have her puzzle toys filled at all times, remember, you got to keep her busy.”
Angelo barked, knowing she was being talked about.
“I know, Angie, I’m going to let you play with Uncle Zell soon… Oh! Yeah, so she has a bunch of nicknames. You should switch it up, so she feels like everything is normal.”
“Nicknames?”
“Yeah, just a couple, you know, like Angie, Ange, Angel Girl, Angel … Lo, LoLo, Lola, Her Name was Lola She was a Show Girl, Girl, Girlie Girl, happy girl, puppy girl, puppelo, doggelo… Smarty paws, sushi monster, rocket dog, dog genius, Sherbark Holmes, The Inspector, Inspector Angelo, Do-Do-Do-Do Inspector Angie, Do-Do-DoDo… Miss Sniffs A Lot, Nosey, Sniffer, Finders Keepers, Where's Waldo, Pet Pal…”
“Agh, gotta find more paper!”
Angelo saw Zell running around the room and opening drawers. She thought it looked like fun and decided to search with him. Rinoa continued, counting off on her fingers as she recalled each pet name.
“… Angel Eyes, Angel Hair, Linguini, Maki Roll, Maki Mae, Mae Mae… Angelina, Angelini, Angelo de roma de pepperoni de mozzarella de pecorino de mortadella de marinara… pupperoni, Pupperoni and Cheese, Fluffy Butt, Miss Fluffy Butt, Miss Fluffy Butticus the Third, Lady Snuggleworth, Fish Breath… Squall has a nickname for her, I can’t remember what it is, though…”
“Oh, and her full name, of course, if you really mean business: Sant’ Angelo di Roma!”
At this, Angelo immediately stopped searching and lifted her head, ears perked.
“Also, she likes to wear bandanas on occasion. I left you a couple. She’s not too picky about which.”
Zell returned to the living room, desperately clasping a notebook.
“There’s something she isn’t picky about?!”
Rinoa handed Zell a laminated card.
“Here’s a list of all her emergency numbers, including her vet, nutritionist, training consultant, her favorite pet store and therapist. And here’s where me and Squall are staying and the numbers there.
“Phew, I think that’s everything… I know it’s a lot, I just want to make sure she stays out of trouble… Call me if you have any questions.”
Rinoa crouched down and opened her arms. Angelo barreled into the embrace of her favorite person.
“Bye Girl, I’m going to miss you so, so, so, SO much. I’ll bring you home a souvenir from Esthar, okay?” Rinoa hopped to her feet and quickly turned toward the door. “Thanks again, Zell, see you!”
“Wait, Rinoa, I don’t think I—”
The door shut behind her and Angelo was sitting pretty next to Zell, happily panting. They looked at each other. Then, Zell started reading through his notes.
“Okay, okay, how bad could this be? I’m sure Rinoa’s just over-protective, right, uhhh… Spaghetti?”
Angelo tilted her head to one side. Zell reached into one bag and found a hard rubber chew toy that once looked like a frog, but it was too marred now. It was Angelo’s favorite.
Zell tossed it to her and Angelo caught it in the air.
Zell smiled.
“Yeah, this is going to be great! Just two days, I got this.”
Angelo barked enthusiastically into the darkness when she smelled her second favorite person coming up the road. Squall walked into the light and stiffened.
“Zell… That’s your house, isn’t it?”
The tiny row house was ablaze, flames crackling. Scary men in long coats and hats were crowded around, spraying water at it. An audience of other Balamb residents, their houses nearby, stood and watched the dog-begotten destruction.
“Ye… Yeah…” Zell said weakly. He was on his knees, staring helplessly forward. “How… how did this happen… She…”
“Did you give her the wrong ball?”
Zell’s head fell.
Squall sighed.
“Come on, Ultima Weapon, let’s get you home.”
Excitedly, Angelo ran to Squall’s heel and followed him away from the fire.