Connor McKinley was napping on the large, plush tan couch in his living room. Just as he was about to slip into the deepest of sleep, he was brought back to reality by a small girl plopping herself on his stomach. With an abrupt "OOF!" Connor's eyes shot open.

"I'm sorry, Papa. Did I wake you?" the little girl sheepishly asked.

The little girl was Mangeni McKinley-Price, Connor's adopted daughter from Uganda. She was literally his pride and joy and the most important thing in his life, along with his husband, Kevin Price.

There was nothing Connor hated more than a rude awakening. Connor and Kevin were former Mormon missionaries who served a mission together in Uganda (that was how they met), and as soon as the other elders realized Connor's bizarre pet peeve, they constantly would think of new and hilarious ways randomly wake him up in the middle of the night.

Still, Connor looked into his daughter's glimmering eyes and couldn't help but simply crack a smile.

"Oh no!" Connor responded, surprisingly cheerful. "I was just resting my eyes." He repositioned himself and Mangeni so that she was now sitting comfortably on his lap. "So what's up, kiddo?"

"Papa, do you love me?"

"Oh my goodness! More than anything in the whole world!" Connor squealed, kissing her on the cheek.

"Do you like dogs?"

At this, Connor raised an eyebrow. A small smirk spread across his face. He could tell where this conversation was leading. "Well of course I do. You know how much I love Joey." Joey was Connor's former dog that was still living with his parents, a large, tan mutt of sorts.

"Well," Mangeni said coyly, "if YOU like dogs… and I like dogs… then that means…" She didn't feel the need to finish. Instead, she batted her eyelashes at her father.

"Oh… sweetie, I know you really want a dog and I would love nothing more than to have one too… but daddy doesn't like dogs. He'd never let us have one."

"Why does daddy hate dogs?"

Connor thought it over. "You know… I don't know. He never told me why." Kevin and Connor were more in love with one another than anyone else could even begin to imagine. They knew everything about one another, but Connor never thought to look for into the fact that Kevin very openly was against dogs of any kind.

"So… we can't have a doggie?" Mangeni's eyes slowly began to fill with tears. The sight of his daughter being so sad tugged strongly at the depths of Connor's heart.

"Oh honey, please don't cry. I'll tell you what. I'm not gonna make ANY promises but when daddy gets home later I'll talk to him and maybe I can change his mind. But if he says no, I don't want you to get upset. Ok?"

Mangeni thought the proposition over for a second, and then smiled. "Ok, Papa. I sure hope he says yes."

"I sure hope so too, sweetie."

The doorbell suddenly rang. Connor carefully lifted Mangeni off of his lap and rushed to answer the door. Nabulungi Hatimbi, a close friend the couple met in Uganda, was standing at the door carrying a picnic basket and a blanket.

"Nabu!" Connor cheerfully greeted. "What a surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Oh, I know. I'm sorry, I should have called," she said, stepping inside. "I didn't have anything to do today so I thought maybe you and Mangeni wanted to join me for a picnic in the park today."

"Oh! What a great idea!" Connor turned towards the living room. "Mangeni, do you want to go have a picnic with Aunt Nabu?"

Mangeni was already running towards the front door. As soon as she arrived, she threw her arms around Nabulungi's waist. "Hi, Aunt Nabu! I'd LOVE to go have a picnic!"

The three walked along the sidewalk in the direction of the park. It was a beautiful day out; sunny with a very light breeze. Nabulungi and Connor discussed a number of random topics, Mangeni interjecting every so often to point something out. Suddenly, Nabulungi looked up and noticed that they were walking by the local animal shelter. Nabulungi adored animals and volunteered every so often.

"Oh! It's the shelter I volunteer at! I really should go in and say hello." She eagerly looked down at Mangeni. "Would you like to go pet the puppies!"

"Oh, um, Nabu-" Connor nervously tried to get her attention before it was too late, but Mangeni was already eagerly following Nabulungi inside. Connor rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed the two in.

Nabulungi was chatting with one of the workers she knew as Mangeni proceeded towards the wall of cages where the noisy cats and dogs were being held. Before she could get to far, she felt Connor's hand halt her by the shoulder.

"Ok, now remember, Mangeni, we're only gonna look. I don't want you to get too attached."

"I know, Papa. Don't worry." She smiled and turned her attention back to the animals. Connor also began to browse the selection, smiling at all the adorable faces peering back at him from behind the cages.

"Papa! Look at this one!" Mangeni was crouched down, staring into one of the cages on the bottom row. Connor crouched down beside her, and soon felt his heart melt. Inside was a small welsh corgi, orange with a few white patches in his fur. Was was pacing around the cage energetically with his short legs, more than happy to be receiving so much attention.

"His name is Sherbet," one of the workers warmly said, approaching the two. "We named him that because he looks kind of like an orange creamsicle. I think he's one of my favorites here."

"He sure is adorable," Connor practically whimpered, wanting nothing more than to give the puppy a gigantic hug and kiss.

"Would you like to play with him in the other room?" she said with a smile.

Mangeni looked eagerly at her father. "Can we, Papa?"

Connor took a second to think the entire situation over. Get a hold of yourself, Connor, he thought to himself. How can you tell your daughter not to get attached if you're getting attached yourself? Just say no thank you and walk away. Somehow, against his better judgment, he heard himself blurt out, "Sure!"

Connor and Mangeni sat in the small playroom with Nabulungi and the worker looking on. Mangeni would occasionally toss the rubber ball across the room and watch as the dog gaily ran to retrieve it. Ever so often the dog would jump all over Connor, and Connor certainly was more than willing to scratch him all over.

"He really likes you," the worker commented.

"Well I really like him too," Connor responded, allowing the dog to run back to Mangeni. "I'm surprised no one's adopted him yet."

The worker sighed. "Yeah, we're surprised too, actually. He's got a clean record, no medical issues, he's great with kids. I have no idea why no one will take him home." The worker looked to make sure Mangeni was distracted by the dog before she leaned in close to Connor. "And I hate to say it, but if he's not adopted soon, he's at risk to be put to sleep."

Connor's eyes grew wide and misty. "Put to sleep? You're gonna kill him?"

The worker dejectedly nodded. "I wish we were a non-kill shelter, but we just don't have the space or equipment for that kind of thing. Such a shame. No animal deserves that." The worker heard the phone ring in the other room. "Excuse me, one minute," she said, briskly leaving the room.

The dog ran back over to Connor, this time crawling onto his lap and laying down. He was getting tired out by work out he was getting. Connor looked down at the sleepy puppy, trying hard the shake the image of him being euthanized out of his head.

"I know we can't get him," Mangeni said, walking over to Connor, "but I really think daddy would have liked this puppy."

Connor continued to look at Sherbert, who by now was fast asleep in his lap. He looked up at Mangeni and gave a weak smile. "I think daddy would like him too."

The worker suddenly walked back into the room, looking at the sleeping dog. "Aww, the little guy is getting tired. I think it's time to put him back in his cage."

"Actually," Connor suddenly interrupted. "…can you go over the procedure for adoption?"

Nabulungi was able to use her connections with the shelter to allow Connor and Mangeni to take the dog home with them that same day. Connor was in a daze, slowly realizing the enormously poor decision he had made, but snapping back into dreamland every time he looked down at the god in his hands.

"What were you thinking, Connor?" Nabulungi asked as they walked back to Connor's house. "Kevin is going to kill you when he finds out!"

"I know, I know," Connor groaned. "But… I just couldn't let them put him to sleep. He doesn't deserve that. And he's just so adorable."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know… I'll just have to hide him until I explain everything to Kevin."

Eventually, Nabulungi parted ways and began walking back towards her own house. The second Connor and Mangeni stepped foot inside their door, Connor placed Sherbet on the ground. He tentatively began to sniff out his surroundings.

"I'm so happy, Papa!" Mangeni exclaimed. "I'm sure daddy will love him!"

Connor crouched down beside Mangeni. "I'm sure he will too, honey, but remember that I still have to talk to him about all of this. Until I do, I don't want daddy to know that we got Sherbet. So can you do me a HUGE favor? Take him up to your room and whatever you do, don't let him out until I tell you. Ok?"

"Ok, Papa," Mangeni picked the dog up and trudged up to her bedroom. It was perfect timing, as Connor suddenly heard the distinct sound of a car door slamming in the driveway. Connor peered out of the window to see his devilishly handsome brunette husband, Kevin, strutting up the walkway to the front door, donning a gray suit and swinging a briefcase in his hand. Moments later, he opened the door and smiled when he saw Connor there waiting for him.

"Hey, you!" he said, pulling Connor in for a quick kiss on the lips. "Miss me today?"

"Oh… yeah!" Connor was of course excited to see his husband, but had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, afraid of the conversation he was going to have to have with Kevin.

"What did you and Mangeni do today?" Kevin said, walking into the living room.

"Oh, Nabulungi came by and we went to go visit the animal shelter."

Kevin suddenly whipped around, a very bizarre look growing in his eyes. "Why?" he tentatively asked.

"No reason," Connor said, taken aback. "Nabulungi volunteers there, remember?"

"Oh… right. I just don't understand people that LIKE animals so much."

Connor definitely knew the conversation was not going to go well. "Ummm, Kevin… we need to talk."

A look of worry spread across Kevin's face suddenly. "What? What's wrong? Are you ok? Is Mangeni ok?"

Connor couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, no, everyone's fine. It's just… well… why do you hate dogs so much?"

To this Kevin just rolled his eyes. "I don't know… they're just so… needy. And they're gross. I never understood why you loved them so much."

"They're just so cute! And lovable! And… a great way of teaching responsibility…"

Kevin suddenly could see where the conversation was heading. "Connor," he said slowly, "we are NOT getting Mangeni a dog."

Connor was shaking at this point. "W-why not?"

"If you want to teach her responsibility, get her a goldfish or something. We don't need a filthy creature running all over the house."

"SHERBET. GET BACK HERE," Connor suddenly heard Mangeni hissing from the top of the stairs. He suddenly turned pale as the small dog came barreling into the room, jumping up and down Kevin's legs, desperately seeking attention. Kevin stared down at the dog, mouth wide open. Slowly, he looked up at Connor, daggers in his eyes.

"Who's this?" Kevin asked coldly.

"Ummm… his name's Sherbet," Connor said with a small laugh.

"Who does he belong to?"

"Us," Mangeni said, entering the room. "They were gonna kill him unless someone took him home, so we saved him." He approached Kevin and looked up at him. "Isn't he cute, daddy? Don't you like him?"

Kevin continued to glare at Connor, then looked down at Mangeni. "No, Mangeni. I don't. And tomorrow morning he's going right back to the shelter."

Mangeni stepped back a step, her eyes welling up with tears. "But… but they'll kill him. Please, daddy, don't let them kill him!"

"He's going back!" Kevin snapped. Tears began to stream down Mangeni's face.

"You're mean, daddy!" she screamed before turning around and bolting out of the room. Connor was still pale, not expecting the situation to have become as emotional as it had. Kevin's expression turned painful as he watched his daughter run away. He glanced back at Connor and then, without saying a word, trudged upstairs to his bedroom.

It took Connor a minute to recover. He looked down at the dog, who even too was confused by the drama that had just occurred. Connor's grief soon turned into slight anger as he briskly picked the dog up and followed Connor up the stairs. He stormed into the bedroom to find Kevin sitting dejectedly on the bed, staring down at his lap. He looked up and Connor with red eyes, but began glaring again when he saw the dog.

"Get. That dog. Out of here," Kevin said through gritted teeth.

"No," Connor snapped, which took Kevin aback. "Now look. I'm sorry that I went behind your back and got this dog. But it means a lot to me. And more importantly, it means a lot to Mangeni. I'm appalled by the way you acted downstairs. You crushed that little girl's soul."

"That dog crushed mine first," Kevin blurted out.

Connor looked confused. "What? What are you talking about."

"Not that dog," Kevin said, vaguely gesturing to Sherbet. "Archie."

"Archie? Who's Archie?"

Kevin sighed heavily. "My dog from when I was a kid."

Connor set Sherbet down on the ground and took a seat next to Kevin on the bed. "You never told me you had a dog growing up."

"He was a yellow lab. He was the best dog in the whole world. We went everywhere together practically; we were inseparable. He was like my best friend in the whole world."

Connor could see the tears slowly beginning to form in the corners of Kevin's eyes. He reached up and wiped one away. "What happened to him?" he asked softly.

Kevin swallowed hard. "When I was nine and went to Orlando, we left him with the neighbors. That trip was of course one of the greatest experiences of my life. And when we got home… the neighbors told us that he had crawled under the fence at night and… was run over by a truck."

Connor gasped. By now the tears were flowing down Kevin's cheeks. "Kevin… I'm… I'm so sorry."

"It was the worst news I've ever gotten to this day. I literally cried for a week. And after a while, I began to repress the memories of him. I 'turned it off,' as you'd say. It got to the point where I just began to really hate dogs in general. I never wanted it to go that far but… it did."

Connor got up off the bed and walked over to Sherbet, picking him up in his arms. "So why not start fresh?"

Connor brought the dog over to Kevin, sitting back down beside him. Kevin gazed into Sherbet's eyes, as Connor smirked. "You mean to tell me you don't remotely find this dog cute?"

"He's adorable," Kevin said, finally caving in. He turned away. "I know this is good for Mangeni. It's good for all of us. But… I'm just not sure if I'm ready."

Connor rested a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Then we'll take it one day at a time."

Kevin looked back at Connor and smiled. But suddenly he looked dejected again. "I was a real asshole to Mangeni, wasn't I?"

Connor sighed. "Yeah… you kind of were."

Kevin got up and excused himself from the room. He walked down the hall to Mangeni's room and quietly opened the door. Mangeni was sitting on her bed, sadly combing the hair of her favorite Princess Tiana doll.

"Sweetie," Kevin said. "Can I come in?"

Not looking at Kevin, Mangeni slowly nodded her head. Kevin walked in and sat in front of her.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for yelling at you before. You didn't do anything wrong. I blew up for no reason. Can you forgive me?"

Mangeni looked up at Kevin, smiling weakly. "Yes, daddy. I'm sorry I said you were mean."

Kevin chuckled. "Well, I was pretty mean, wasn't I?"

Mangeni thought it over. "Yeah."

Kevin laughed, pulling Mangeni onto his lap and kissing her on the head. "Well apology accepted. You're a good kid, you know that?"

"I know, daddy."

"And because you're such a good kid… I'm gonna let you keep Sherbet."

Mangeni whipped around, beaming. "Really, daddy? You mean it?"

"Yes. But remember, taking care of a puppy is a big responsibility. He's OUR dog so we ALL are gonna have to pitch in to take care of him. We're all gonna have to take turns walking him and giving him baths and feeding him."

Mangeni suddenly looked panicked. "Daddy! I just remembered! We didn't buy him food!"

Kevin gasped. "What? No food? That poor dog must be starving!" Kevin stood up, pulling Mangeni up with him. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go to the store and get everything he needs."