WhenIgottohimhewaslaughing."Wouldyouhelpmedownthestairs?" heasked."I' ."
"Ofcourse, Dad." I' dbeenthrilledandfromthatmomenton, he' dprogressedinleapsandbounds.
Meghadbeenafriendtome, aplaymatetothechildren, butshe' ' dbeenwithhimallthetime, ' , andsadnesshadsettledallaroundhim.
Thefollowingday, IsettledDadinthegardenandleftthechildrenplayingunderhiswatchfuleye.
"Iwon' tbelong," Ipromised."You' llbeallright, Dad? Ifyouwantanything, Matthewcangetitforyou."
"Thanks, love." Dadsmiled."Don' tworry.I' llkeepaneyeonthings."
IcouldneverreplaceMeg, , perhaps, fillavoidinDad' slife.
I' dneverbeentoananimalhomebeforeandwasn' , butcats, acoupleofponies, threepygmygoatsandseveralrabbitswantednewhomes.
, Ifoundmyselfpouringoutmylifestorytothem.
Bahs, oneofthetwonurses, , intheveryend, ' —asad, , shestoppedandcameovertome, .
WhenIpokedmyfingersthroughthebars, , , shecameforwardandlickedmyfingers.
"She' sverygentle," Iremarked, wonderinghowshewouldtaketomynoisychildren.I' dalreadylostmyhearttoherinawayIneverimaginedpossible!
"Herownersmovedaway," Babssaid."Theyputherinboardingkennels, sayingthey' ' tgivehertrusteasily, butifshe' sgivenenoughlove—well, whoknows?"
"Howcruel!" Igasped."Howcouldthey?"
"Oh, itcouldhavebeenalotworse," Babscontinued."Shewasneverphysicallyhurt, ' tbeartobealone."
"She' dneverbealone," IsaidandSadiewaggedhertailasifsheunderstood."Andinourhouse, believeme, there' snoshortageoflove!"
