Read Online Alpha Dog by Jennifer Ziegler - Free Book Online

after stall, dogs of all shapes, sizes and colors. My eyes blurred trying to look at them all.
    Just as the depression was starting to set in, I caught sight of a little face out of the corner of my eye. I turned and saw a dog sitting quietly at the front of his stall, studying me as if I were the one on display.
    He was medium-sized with longish black, white and brown fur. His ears were raised, the left one flopping forward at the tip as if it were too heavy. His fur parted down the length of his snout and hung down like a giant mustache beneath his round, black-button nose. But what struck me the most were his eyes. Big and round and dark, with two streaks of light brown fur hanging over each one like eyebrows. He cocked his head and stared at me intently, looking sad or worried.
Worried about me?
    I’d never seen a dog like him before. And yet, there was something jarringly familiar about him—something that made my mind wheel backward. . . . Big brown eyes . . . messy, floppy hair . . . a kindly look of concern . . .
    “Seamus,” I said softly.
    Suddenly the dog rose up on his haunches and placed his front paws against the glass, his tail a wagging blur. It seemed to me that his mouth curled into a smile.
    “Seamus?” I said again. I knew it wasn’t Seamus— not my Seamus. But for whatever reason, this dog responded to the name. I stared into his dark, soulful eyes, and he kept on gazing back as if terribly concerned for me.
    A warm, snuggly feeling swept through me. I wanted so badly to hold him, to take him home and feed him and take care of him forever and ever. But I knew I couldn’t. Mom would flip out if I got a dog. A decision this big required her input at every step. Hell, she’d probably want to pick it out herself. She’d insist I forget about this guy and instead talk me into some perfect, fluffy poser dog. Or something more practical like a gi-normous watchdog that would attack any guy who came near me—except Aaron, of course. Not that it mattered. She’d never allow me to have a dog to begin with.
    As I turned to walk away, the dog started whining. I spun back around and looked at him.
    Then again . . . there was no reason why we couldn’t have a dog. No one in my family was allergic, and we had a big backyard. And why shouldn’t I be able to pick out the one I wanted? I’d be the one taking care of him. It wasn’t like I would be bringing home a camel, or a great white shark or a guy like Robot. It was just a little dog. What was the big deal anyway?
    I was tired of consulting Mom on every little thing. Robot and Christine were right. I was practically an adult and I was still letting my mom run my life!
    No more. I was going to make this decision myself. And if Mom didn’t like it, tough! It would serve her right for not trusting me.
    “I’d like to reserve this one,” I heard myself call out to the man, who was still flipping pages and taking down notes.
    He glanced over, somewhat taken aback after having written me off as a browser. Sticking the clipboard under his arm, he walked over and studied the tag on Seamus’s kennel.
    “Sorry,” he said. “You’d have to take him now. This guy won’t be available in a couple of months.”
    “Why?” Oh no. Just my luck. Someone else already asked for him! But he was
mine
! They had to understand.
    The man looked into my eyes, his expression a little sad. “This one is scheduled to be euthanized in two days if he isn’t adopted.”
    “Euthanized? You mean . . .” It felt as if I’d been poured over ice.
“. . . killed?”
    “I’m sorry,” the man said again, and he truly did look very sorry. “We get so many dogs here, and we have to accept them all. We simply don’t have the space or resources to keep them indefinitely.”
    I stared back into the little dog’s eyes. His head was tilting from side to side as if he were pondering me as well. A fluttery feeling filled my chest. Somehow I just knew, beyond any doubt or