The girl screams from the back seat. “Daaaaad, look. Puppies! Can I pet them?” The father pulls into the strip mall parking lot where a large metal cage rests on the lush green parking strip. The car door opens and the girl dashes to the cage.

“May I pet your puppies?” she asks the woman sitting in an old lawn chair next to the six Labrador retriever pups. “Sure sweetie, if it’s OK with your dad,” she responds.

He nods in approval, and the woman unlatches one door, pulls out an adorable puppy and hands in to the girl. For 10 minutes the father watches his daughter roll around as the pup licks her face and dances playfully around her legs.

“Our dog had this litter and we just don’t have the room to take care of them,” the woman confides in the father. “I could take them to the pound, but I’d much rather see them go to a good home.”

She glances at the father watching his little girl, now smitten with the tiny puppy. “She sure does seem to love that one. If she wants to take it home, it’s yours. They’re free.” Continue reading