A paws-itive love story

Sunny, a young girl, all of 11, lived in a little town called Greenhaven. A kind and gentle soul, animals held a special place in her heart. She spent her weekends helping at Furry Friends Centre, the local animal shelter close to her home.

January saw a rush of families approaching the centre to welcome a new member to their homes, as part of their New Year resolutions. However, as February arrived and Valentine’s Day approached, Sunny noticed that the shelter had many lonely animals waiting to be adopted. She decided to organise ‘Love Adoption’, a Valentine’s-themed event to create awareness about adopting abandoned and stray dogs and cats.

However, not everyone was excited about the event. Silas Scowl, a pet store owner in his 60s, was furious. He had been making a fortune selling pure-bred kittens and puppies. The campaign could dampen his sales.

“The event will be a disaster!” Silas shouted at Sunny, as he barged into the shelter. “I’ll tell everyone about how untrained these animals are,” he said angrily.

Sunny ignored his remarks and kept working on posters for the event. “I always knew that Mr Silas was a grumpy man, but I didn’t know that he hated the animal shelter so much,” she thought to herself.

On the day of the event, she decorated the shelter with paper hearts and flowers. She had baked cookies for the attendees and a variety of delicious treats for the animals too.

As she walked around excitedly, disaster struck. The loud sound of a truck nearby startled many of the animals. Jumpy, a beagle and the shelter’s resident mischief-maker, escaped from her enclosure, and started running around. She knocked over tables and chairs. The paper cups containing soft drinks spilled over some of the posters Sunny was yet to put up. Jumpy even stole some treats from the baskets lying around. All the other shelter animals — dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs — were shocked and amused by Jumpy’s hysterical acts.

Sunny was mortified. She tried to catch Jumpy but she was too fast for her. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, Silas dropped in. He had a smirk on his face. “I had warned you! Nothing is easy with such unruly animals. Streeties always misbehave!” he said, shaking his head.

But, Sunny wasn’t ready to give up yet. She asked her friends who were around to help her catch and return Jumpy to her enclosure again.

As the event proceeded, several people expressed their desire to adopt the shelter animals. The first to find a new home was Whiskers, a fluffy playful cat who had been at the shelter for almost a year. She was adopted by
Mr Hendricks, an old man who had recently lost his tabby. As Mr Hendricks and Whiskers were leaving the shelter, Sunny couldn’t contain her excitement. “I’m so glad you both found each other,” she said as she hugged him and the cat.

Things were going smoothly. However, Silas appeared again, this time with a few friends. They all came with signs and placards and started shouting, “Buy from breeders. Don’t adopt from shelters!”. He pointed at Jumpy and told the crowd about her antics from earlier that day.

Sunny was taken aback. Yet, in a soft yet determined tone, she stood and explained about why Jumpy was so anxious.  “Her mischief comes from the many times she has been abandoned and abused.” She spoke about how most of the animals at the shelter had been abandoned because of their owner’s travel schedules or miscalculations. “We don’t abandon our children, then why do we do this to our furry friends?” she asked.

Slowly, the protesters dispersed. Disappointed to see his fellow protesters turn away, Silas sat on a bench, waiting for some chaos to break loose.

Momo, the yellow-coloured labrador, who was the last of his litter, had been raised at the shelter. He was barely two months old when he arrived at the centre but he won over everyone’s hearts in a matter of minutes. Momo was staring at Silas with his beautiful grey-blue eyes and tugging at his trousers. Silas petted him. “Momo has a rare heart condition. But if you allow him some time, he will surely steal your heart,” Sunny told Silas. Sunny walked away as she saw Silas play fetch with Momo.

In a few hours, over a dozen animals had found new homes, and Sunny was elated. She knew that she had made a difference.

As for Silas, when he started walking away from the event, Momo followed him. “I guess I am stuck with you!” Silas said. Sunny cheered: “I knew he would win you over! Please feel free to ask me for help, when you need a pet-sitter.” Silas nodded with a smile, filled in the adoption papers and walked away with Momo on his side.

He had learnt an important lesson — be it a furry friend from the pet store or the streets — everyone deserves to be loved.