Penny was in the house searching for her mother. Penny found her in the laundry room, folding clothes. Penny knew that she couldn't keep Maybelle a secret. So she went up to her mother and asked the question.
"Hey mom. I need to talk to you about something." Penny said to her mother.
"Yeah? What's this about?" Penny's mother asked.
"Well... When I went to go pick Bolt up from the pet-sitter, I found the cutest thing!" Penny said excitedly.
"What's that?" Penny's mother asked.
"I found a dog, snuggled up to Bolt while he licked her forehead." Penny said.
"Aw. That is cute." Penny's mother added.
"So anyways... I noticed that Bolt really likes her... I mean Maybelle. And..." Penny trailed off.
"...And what?" Penny's mother said still folding clothes.
"Well... I took her home with us." Penny finished.
Penny's mother dropped the shirt that she was folding and looked right at Penny with wide eyes.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Penny's mother shouted.
Penny was silent.
"Penny! You have to give her back! You stole someone's dog! They won't know what happened to her! I raised you better than this!" Penny's mother ordered.
"No! Wait. You see... When I saw her, she didn't have a collar, so I figured that she was a stray. I thought about it and I went to the pet-sitter and asked her if she had any records or anything on Maybelle." Penny told her mother.
"Okay... So... what did she say?" Penny's mother asked.
"She said that she couldn't find any records on her." Penny answered.
"Oh. Well still. I don't think we need another animal around here to take care of. We already have three. And I think that's enough. We are going to get rid of her tonight." Penny's mother insisted.
"No mom. I can't let her go back on her own again. We can't just drop her off on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere! Maybelle won't last out there alone! She needs food, water, shelter, ...Bolt, ...and she needs owners too, you and me. Plus, I've haven't seen Bolt this happy for so long... and it makes me feel good to know that Bolt is happy. And I think that you think so too." Penny said.
"Well..." Penny's mother trailed off kind of "iffy".
"Come on, mom! Please!" Penny begged.
"...Okay. Fine. But if she isn't house trained..." Penny's mother said.
"I know. I know. Thanks mom!" Penny said as she gave her mother a big hug.
"We will go to town and get a collar and leash for... Uhhh..." Penny's mother trailed off in thought.
"Maybelle." Penny added.
"...Oh. Right. Maybelle. We will do that tomorrow when I get home from work." Penny's mother finished.
"Oh that's okay mom. I already bought her a collar and a leash." Penny said.
"You did? Oh. Well that takes care of that." Penny's mother said.
"Would you like to see her mom?" Penny asked.
"Is she here?" Penny's mother asked.
"Yeah. She's somewhere around here. I told Bolt to show Maybelle around. But don't think he can understand me, though." Penny answered.
"I'm pretty sure that animals wouldn't understand that." Penny's mother added as they walked to a window to look outside.
"Ah. There they are." Penny told her mother.
Penny's mother looked through the window to the patio and saw Maybelle sitting beside Bolt.
"Wow. The Canaan breed. Maybelle is very pretty indeed. Bolt sure does know how to pick 'em. She reminds me of Bolt." Penny's mother said.
"Really? How?" Penny asked confused.
"It isn't hard really. Just look at their ears, their tails, their muzzles, and their fur. Maybelle may be just a little shorter than Bolt, but I think that they look a lot alike." Penny's mother answered.
Penny stood and looked at the two dogs there on the patio, looking from Bolt to Maybelle.
"Wow. I think your right. They must have a bit of things in common." Penny said.
"Yep. Well if that's it... I would like to get back to doing the laundry." Penny's mother said.
"Okay. Yeah, that's it. I'll see you later mom." Penny said.
Penny's mother nodded and walked back to the laundry room. Penny's cell phone rang from a new text message that she had just received. Penny looked at it and went up the stairs to her room to chat with Taylor from school again.
