Melon and her human had been together for a while. Melon was used to having a dog around, she liked dogs, but several months earlier, her canine companion, Taffy, had passed away. Melon missed Taffy, especially when she went to curl up on the pooch’s favorite spot on the couch, and found it empty.
Eventually, Melon and her human decided it was time to adopt a new dog. However, finding their new friend turned out to be harder than they had expected. Melon met a lot of different dogs. Some were small dogs. Some were medium dogs. Some were large dogs. And one was a really large dog. That dog was definitely not the one for Melon. Actually, none of those dogs were right for Melon. She began to think that maybe she would never find another friend to cuddle with.
Then, one day, Melon and her human went to yet another shelter. This one had a pile of puppies. They were everywhere, and got into everything. They were all fluff, paws, and sharp little teeth. Melon was never so happy to have her carrier. She couldn’t believe her eyes when her human stepped right into the middle of that mess of fluff, and picked up a small golden pup, and asked, “What do you think of this one, Melon?”
Melon did not know what to think of that one, but she would soon find out. Melon and her human took the small dog to a quiet room and Melon reluctantly exited her carrier. The puppy went right up to Melon, touched its nose to hers, then crouched back and let out an excited yip, wagging its tiny tail so hard it almost toppled over.
“Yes,” Melon thought, “this is the one.”
And her human agreed. They adopted the small bundle of fur and fun that very day. After some investigative work, Melon discovered that their new friend, who was now called Ellie, was a young female that had recently lost her mother. Being a mother herself, Melon felt a strong responsibility to care for the abandoned little one, and to accept her and welcome her into the family.
At first, Ellie didn’t do much more than sleep, and made occasional messes around the house. As Ellie got older, she started to do more, and play more, and make even more messes. Melon taught her the best she could. However, Ellie turned out to be a stubborn student, and insisted on learning things her own way, which usually meant the hard way.
Something Ellie caught on to quickly, though, was napping. And cuddling. A lot of the time Ellie would run around and ruffle Melon’s fur, but when she finally settled down, Melon would work her way over to Ellie, curl up next to her and purr them both into a peaceful sleep.
Ellie and Melon became fast friends. They don’t always see eye to eye, but they love each other, and have all kinds of fun together.
