A Tale of Two Besties by Rossi Sophia

Author:Rossi, Sophia [Rossi, Sophia]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2015-04-28T07:00:00+00:00

On Wednesday, Rachel offered to take me to my PuppyTales volunteer session. When she dropped me off at the Beverly Gardens Park, she said to text her whenever I need to be picked up. Lately I’ve noticed that Rachel’s been being eerily nice to me, which meant even my snarky older sister felt bad for me. At least I didn’t have to deal with her and her friends teasing me on top of everything else—that’s one thing going my way. Well, that and my awesome grades: the combination of Lily-withdrawal-weirdness and a fear of running into Kendall anywhere outside of school meant that I wasn’t really leaving the house much, and with nothing to do there but study and absorb some new MomTips, I’ve been pulling straight As.

In the summer the park tends to get overrun by tourists, but now that fall was arriving and everyone was back in school, there were fewer people than usual sitting on the perfectly manicured lawns, alternating between lattes, spring waters, and bottles of cold-press green juice. (Los Angelenos can micromanage their beverages like nobody’s business.) I was running late: By the time we pulled up, there was already a line of kids and exasperated parents snaking back behind a tan-and-white RV that read “PuppyTales Mobile Center.” One of the panels of the RV was open, like a food truck whose window extended all the way to the floor. In fact, when the Jacobys originally bought the Mobile Center, it was a recently retired vegan taco truck, but they renovated the kitchen and bathroom area so that now the entire space is used to transport their rescues.

As part of our organization’s outreach program, the Jacobys invite kids and families into the center once a month, and let them play with some of the dogs. They also give out literature for the kids to hand to their parents when they (obviously) run back and beg their moms to please please please let them get that Jack Russell terrier puppy with the crooked tail and the wonky ear. We also go to schools, low-income areas, and occasionally rehab centers and correctional facilities (though I’m not old enough to volunteer at those places yet). I also help out as the PuppyTales social media manager, which means I put the word out about where the Mobile Center is going next, and let our followers know what dogs we have up for fostering and adopting. My goal is to eventually become an “angel parent,” which means I would get to host some of the puppies in my home to help them adjust to family life. But I can’t right now because a) You have to be at least eighteen to be an angel and b) my mom is allergic.

I don’t want to be a vet or anything. I just really love dogs. Lily and I used to joke that the reason I get along so well with people is because I’m able to love unconditionally, the way dogs do. I know it’s silly, but there’s something magical about the way dogs look at the world.

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