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Zeno checked Xavier’s list as he stood in the freezer section of the grocery store. Fruit ice pops were underlined twice. So he grabbed three different boxes of fruit flavors and started for the check out line. It was a sunny day on the East Coast and summer was coming.
As he made his way out with two bags on his arm, he heard a commotion and saw a crowd of people, mostly children, around a couple with a large box. There was a sign on it: Free to a good home.
Zeno looked down into the box and found six or so fluffballs with four paws and already floppy ears. They were very cute. And Leon and Xavier occasionally talked about getting a dog for the cottage. These seemed small for guard dogs, but all they needed to do was let Xavier and Leon know something was the matter.
So he ended up with a pair of puppies in a shoe box beside him as he headed back to the cottage. They were siblings who’d been snuggled up together in a corner of the larger box. They seemed to be calmer than the rest of the litter. He was sure he’d picked the best ones.
Xavier’s eyes widened when he saw the puppies in Zeno’s arms. /Where did these come from?/
“Someone’s dog apparently had a litter. They were free.” Zeno informed. “I picked the calmest ones.”
/They’re sleeping./ Xavier took the box gently.
“One’s a male, one’s a female. Look at their patterns, they’re almost the same.”
/Did you bring any puppy food?/ Xavier set the box on the counter and examined the puppies. They seemed healthy. They were clean.
“The farmer said they’re old enough to eat meat.”
/Dogs need specialized food for long term unless we commit to a raw-food diet./ Xavier pointed at the tablet. /Look up what their caloric needs are. We’ll make do for now./
“I’m seeing formulas by weight. But it’s also saying that if they’re hungry we should feed them.”
One of the puppies, the female, woke up and lifted her head. She got to her feet and sniffled at the world outside her box. When she spotted Xavier, she paused and her tail stuck straight up. She didn’t seem to know what to make of him.
Xavier froze in place and waited for the puppy to decide whether he was friend or foe. Her brother woke up and spotted X as well. The three of them stood frozen in opposition to each other. The female puppy sniffed the air and then climbed out of the box, forcing Xavier to set a hand on the edge of the counter in case she tried to jump off.
Zeno moved around the back of the counter in case the male ran.
Cautiously, Xavier moved his hand close to the female and let her sniff him. She began to wag her tail and let him pet her. Xavier was able to pick her up and rumble to her.
“She likes you.” Zeno observed with a smile.
/Get the male off the counter. I don’t want him falling./ X instructed. The female puppy started to lick his weathered cheek. He couldn’t help but nuzzle her soft fur.
Zeno took the male in his box and set him on the floor. He stayed in the box, presumably because he was frightened, but he wasn’t whining or shaking. Just adjusting to a new place.
Leon was less impressed with Zeno’s antics when he arrived home. He picked up the male puppy and examined his paws. “What kind of dog did you say these were?”
“They’re mutts, not a breed. Why?” Zeno asked, tickling the female’s neck.
“Well they’re not pitbulls.” Leon tucked the male into his arm. “But they have big paws… I think they’re going to be big dogs.”
/We did talk about a guard dog./ Xavier pointed out, bringing Leon a soda from the fridge.
“I know. I just expected we would talk about it first. And either go through a rescue or a breeder.” Leon pushed the male’s coat back and examined his skin and the base of his hairs. “…Zeno, go to the nearest pet supply store. Buy a bottle of Dr. Adams shampoo.”
/What is it?/ X bent close to look at what Leon was seeing.
“Do you see those little black flecks?” Leon showed Xavier the spotting in the puppy’s pale coat. “That’s called flea dirt. We need to treat them for it as fast as possible.”
Zeno looked up with the female puppy in his arms. “They have fleas?!”
“Yep.” Leon scratched the male’s ear. “They have so many fleas.”
Zeno did not drop the female puppy. But he put her down as quickly as possible without dropping her and sped out the front door.
“This is one of the many reasons no one should adopt free puppies from the side of the road.” Leon groused, wrangling the female puppy into his arm. “I’m putting them in the tub sink in the garage.”
Xavier was already gathering up everything the puppies had touched and either stuffing it into the washing machine or throwing it into the shoebox they’d came in to be thrown out.
“Did you and Zeno talk about naming these two?” Leon asked as the Tyrant followed him through the garage with the contaminated trash. He set them in the garage sink and petted their heads to keep them calm.
/Not yet./ X dropped the box into their trash can. /But I like the name Serana for the girl./
“I like that too. We’ll let Zeno name the male.” Leon scratched Serana’s back at the base of her tail.
The relatively quiet puppies did not enjoy their bath. Leon scrubbed them as carefully as he could, dark brown fleas pouring out of their coats and drowning in suds as they were carried down the drain.
“They sound so distressed.” Zeno was hovering with a bag of soft puppy treats.
“This might be their first bath.” Leon pointed out. “They’ll be fine. And when they have their next bath, they’ll remember the treats and not make such a fuss.” He wrapped the unnamed male in a towel and handed him to Zeno. “Dry him off, feed him a few treats.” He ran the sink’s head over Serana to soak her coat and tried not to get it on her face.
“What are you going to name him?” Zeno asked, trying to rub the puppy with the ratty towel and feed him at once.
“We thought you might want to name him.” Leon rubbed shampoo into Serana’s coat. “If you have any ideas.”
Zeno looked down at the puppy. He had a sweet face, upright ears, and a patched fluffy coat with grey and white. “…Aurum.”
Leon rolled his eyes. He wasn’t surprised Zeno and Xavier had chosen such fancy names for the dogs. “Aurum sounds good.”
Zeno held Aurum and scratched his ears, then went inside with the de-contaminated puppy. “He’s clean now.”
/Good./ Xavier had changed his clothes. /Put your clothes in the washing machine and run it./
“Right.” Zeno could all but feel things crawling on his skin, and no matter how many times he told himself it was psychosomatic, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling.
Leon was teaching Aurum and Serana to sit for a treat when Zeno returned in fresh clothes. “All right. Now that we’ve had a fresh start with them – never do this again.” He gave Zeno a bit of a severe look. “You need to ask before bringing home something alive. And adorable as they are, never accept a free puppy from strangers.”
“I didn’t realize taking on dogs was so complex.” Zeno apologized.
“Yeah, well, if you learn about dogs from popular movies you wouldn’t.” Leon was forced to admit. “If you’re doing it right and taking care of their needs, it’s a more involved process than just bringing them home and feeding them table scraps. Sit, Serana. Sit girl.” He held up a treat for her and she settled into a sitting pose pretty quickly. “They’re smart dogs, which is good. We’ll be able to train them pretty easily.”
Zeno crouched on the floor and took a treat. He held it like Leon was above Aurum’s head. “Aurum, can you sit? Good boy.”
“All right, that’s enough. We can only train them so much before they lose focus.” Leon straightened and cracked his back with a sigh. “Take them outside, let them play a bit so they’ll calm down.”
“Will they run off?” Zeno asked, scooping Aurum into one arm and grabbing Serana.
“Hopefully not.” Leon sighed. “Did you just buy the shampoo while you were at the store?”
“It seemed urgent.” Zeno pointed out. “But I also brought puppy food.”
“Good.” Leon grumbled and grabbed a pad of pen and paper. “I’ll go get them leashes and some other things they need. Try to keep an eye on them.”
Xavier followed Zeno out into the sunny garden to watch the puppies play and wrestle each other.