My dog friend, Diego

It was my birthday and my parents took me to a nearby pet shop. I'm the only child in my family and often times I felt lonely so my parents decided to let me adopt a dog as my birthday gift. I walked through the alley of cages, showing lots of dogs woofing at me. My parents gave me some time to choose which dog I'd like to adopt so I walked slowly and I saw cute Maltese. I asked the shop owner whether or not I could take her out of the cage and he allowed it. I took her out of her cage and tried to play with her. She woofed cutely and blinked her eyes at me. I put her down and she ran around the room. I tried to chase her but when I caught her, she barked at me fiercely and scratched my T-shirt. I was so startled that she became so fierce so I decided to put her in the cage and looked for another dog. 

I saw a little Chihuahua sitting on her comfy couch. She didn't look at me but I tried to call her to come to me. She didn't make a move so I decided to take her out of her cage. I patted her head but she always defended herself, like she didn't want me to touch her. I put her down but she just walked into her cage and again sat on her couch. I can't adopt her, I thought. I'd need a dog that I could play with. She was so lazy and somewhat arrogant and I could not believe it. Or maybe, she didn't like me. 

I saw an Akita in the next cage. He was looking at me, pointing his paw at me. I walked to see him closer. Well he was too big and I didn't think I could handle him. He got his left foot bandaged and I asked the shop owner what had happened to the dog. He told me that the dog was beaten by his former owner because the dog attacked the former owner's relative. He also told me that the dog was somewhat rebellious; he ran and messed this room at the first time his former owner brought him here. I looked at the dog's eyes and I saw something. I was about to open the cage but my parents immediately stopped me. "He might bite you," mama said. 

The shop owner asked my parents if they'd like to check the collection of dog kennels. My parents and the shop owner left me with the dogs. I saw a beautiful Poodle in the next cage and I tried to call her so she would come to me. She did come to me but she barked fiercely at me. I tried to calm her down but she kept barking at me. Thank God I had not opened the cage yet because if I had, she might jump and kicked my face. 

There was a little Beagle woofing at me. I came closer to his cage and he rolled back and forth, seeking for my attention. I took him out of his cage. He woofed at me and he let me pat his head. I carried him and he looked comfortable being hugged by me. He licked me face and it tickled me. Oh, I thought I would adopt him. I put him down and gave him a piece of salt cheese cracker. He took it and brought it into his cage. I was surprised. I called him again, trying to make him come to me but he didn't come back. I even tried to take him out but he refused. Feeling disappointed, I closed his cage and continued looking for another dog. 

I saw a Siberian Husky in the next cage. His fiery, bold eyes looked at me. He didn't bark at me, yet he didn't make any move from his spot. I wasn't sure if he liked me but I tried to steal his attention. To my surprise, he came to me and talked to me. Yes! He literally talked to me! He even called my name! I thought I was hallucinating but I wasn't. The dog really talked to me. 

"Never see a talking dog, Mario?" 

I pinched my arm and I slapped my face. It hurt. That Siberian Husky was talking to me and it was real. 

"Y-you talk to me?" I asked nervously. 

"Yeah. Whom do you think I'm talking with?" answered the dog. 

"H-how come?" 

The dog pointed his paw at the cage door, wanting to get out his cage. I opened his cage and let him out. I knelt so my height became as tall as his. 

"How could you know human language?" I asked.
"Sure I understand. You people know my language, too, don't you?" he answered. 

"But this is weird," I replied, "You know.. I'm talking to a dog and he replies me. We both speak in English and.. please don't tell me that you know Spanish, too" 

"Buenos dias?" 

I gasped. 

"Are you looking for a dog to adopt?" the dog asked. 

"Y-yes.. I'm actually looking for a friend since I'm the only child in my family," I answered. 

"So have you made your decision?" the dog asked again. 

"No. It's hard to make a decision. I don't know which one to adopt," I answered. 

The dog moved closer to me. 

"Do you want to know what they're thinking?" 

"How?" 

"Now close your eyes" 

I closed me eyes. 

"Don't open your eyes until I tell. Okay" 

"What?" 

"Now open your eyes" 

I was very shocked when I opened my eyes. Now I could hear what the dogs were thinking. No. They were not barking at me. They were shouting at me! 

"Pick me!" 

"No! Don't pick her! She's annoying! Pick me instead!" 

"Do you have swimming pool at your house?" 

"How big would my kennel be?" 

"Hey dude! Would you give me more cracker pieces?" 

"Do you live in Holywood?" 

"I want Bratwurst!" 

I was so shocked that I could not say anything. Now I could know what the dogs said and it made me crazy. They all kept talking to me and they didn't give me time to make a decision. No. Not all the dogs. The Akita didn't say anything. He didn't even looked at me; he was looking at the floor. He looked sad and he didn't even ask me to pick him. The noise came to its peak and I could not stand it anymore. 

"Shut up!!!" 

All the dogs stopped talking. I walked to the Akita's cage. He was there and he didn't look at me. He still looked sad and I wondered why. 

"Hey, buddy. What happened?" I asked him. 

"Why do you talk to me?" he asked. 

"Because you are the only one who doesn't say anything. You're so quiet," I answered. 

The dog came to me. 

"The shop owner told me that you were beaten because you attacked your former owner's relative. Is that true?" I asked. 

"Yes, that's true," he answered, "But do you know why I attacked him?" 

"Why?" 

"Because he tried to molest Callista"
"Callista? Who?"
"My former owner's daughter"
"So you attacked him in order to save Callista from being molested?" 

"Yes. I love her as much as she does to me. I believe she's missing me right now" 

"But why didn't you tell your owner that you just wanted to protect Callista?" 

"No one would believe me. Else, we don't speak human, yet we understand what they say" 

I sighed. 

"And why did you make a mess at the first time you came to this place?" 

"Because I didn't want to leave Callista. She was crying in the car and her parents didn't let her see me for the last time" 

I thought for a while, deciding to open his cage. I didn't know what came into my mind but I just opened his cage and let him out. On the next second I found myself hugging the dog. It just happened and the dog didn't bite me. 

"I wonder what your name is," I said.

"Diego. That's how Callista call me," he replied. 

My parents and the shop owner came back and they were shocked to see me hugging the dog. 

"Mario! Get away from the dog!" cried mom, "Lawrence have told you that the dog is dangerous!" 

"He might bite your ear!" said dad. 

"No, he didn't and he wouldn't," I replied. 

"Mario, could you just pick another dog? Probably a good looking one so you can take her to competition?" asked mom. 

I sighed and stood up. Diego stood next to me. 

"Mama, papa, please let me make my own decision. I've been lonely all this time and I don't need fancy dog to win a competition. I just need a friend and I've found one. Diego is a good friend," I said, "Please. I just want him and I don't care about any competitions. It's my birthday, isn't it? You let me adopt a dog which means that you believe that I'll take care of my pet seriously. If you believe that I can take care of my pet, then why can't you believe in my decision?" 

Mama and papa had a sidebar and the shop owner looked at me, confused. 

"How do you know that he is a good dog?" he asked. 

"Diego attacked his former owner's relative because he wanted to protect Callista. He made this room messy at the first day he came here because he was angry. He didn't want to leave Callista alone because he knew Callista would be sad and lonely," I answered. 

"You said that like you had talked to the dog," the shop owner held his laugh. 

"Indeed. Sure I did," I replied. 

It was a good thing that mama and papa let me adopt Diego. I promised them that I would take care of Diego seriously. As we walked out the pet shop, Diego woofed at me. 

"Thank you for being my friend," Diego said. 

I winked at him. 

"So you wanna play tag as we come home, mi amigo?" I asked. 

Diego woofed again. He said yes.