Theyallrantothefrontoftheirkenneldoorstoseeifsomeonewascomingto“pickthem”。“Sorry，”hesaidtotheotherdogsashisearsfelldownfromtheirperkedposition.“IcouldhaveswornIheardvoicessaying，‘Isn’thecuteIt’sChristmas，can’twetakehimhomewithus’”“Youmusthavebeendreamingagainoldman，”saidthedoginthecagenexttohim.“Anyway，what’sthebigdealaboutgettingpickedupasaChristmasgiftWe’veallbeenthroughthatroutineandlookwhereitgotus.”
“Justonce，I’dliketofeelthewarmthofahandstrokingmyhead，”saidtheolddog.“I’dliketobetheonewhokissesthetearsoffasadface.I’.”
Hecurledupandsighedastheotherssaid，“Theonlyplaceyou’regoingtofindthatisinyourdreams，oldman.”
Hank’swifehadonlybeengoneayearbutthepainwasasfreshasiftimehadstoodstill.
Hewasanoldmannow，’scupboardswereclosetobarenowand，althoughhedidn’twanttogoout，.
Suddenly，！Sohecoastedovernexttothecurb，，they’dlethimusetheirphone.
，failingtonoticethesignposted“EmployeesOnly”。
AsHankwalkedout，hewasoverwhelmedbyyaps，.
Slowlyhewalkeddowntheconcreteaislelookingforanattendant.
Threekennelsdownontheright，，hesensedaneedandcouldn’tresistofferingakindlookandagentlewagofthetail.
AsHanknearedtheolddog’scage，helacedhisfingersthroughthechainlinktosteadyhisgaituntilthefirstfeelingofcomforthe’drememberedinoverayearcamefromawetnoseandlickacrosshisarthriticfingers.
JustthenavoiceofauthoritysoundedandHankjumped.
“I’msorry，sir，youaren’tsupposedtobeinthisarea！”shesaid.
LuckilyHankdidn’tknowhehadwalkedintothe“finalarea”whereunclaimeddogswerescheduledtobeputdown.
’deverseen.
Ignoringtheattendant’sordertoleave，.
Shebroughttheolddogoutandinstantlythetwosouls—oncesolost—’scupboardswerenowfilled，awarmfirecrackledandtheolddogsmiledinsideasheremembered“onlyinyourdreams”。ClosinghiseyeshefeltHank’shandstrokinghisheadwhispering“sleepinheavenlypeace”。
ItwasChristmasafterall.
