Chapter 139: Volunteering

Author's Note: Inspiration for this chapter came from the video Zak did with the Nevada SPCA that showed him volunteering. You can find a link in my profile to watch it.

Once I had finished drying my hair, I put on my usual minimal makeup, put my hair up in messy bun, and then went to my bedroom to get dressed.

Since we were only going to the Nevada SPCA, I put on an old pair of blue jeans, and a plain grey hoodie that I usually just wore around the house. I knew that I'd probably get covered in fur - like Zak had said - so I didn't want to wear anything I wore out regularly.

Once I was ready, I went downstairs and met Zak at the front door, who was putting his sneakers on.

He smiled when he saw me.

"All set?" He asked.

"Yep," I replied, smiling, putting my own sneakers on, and grabbed my purse as Zak grabbed his keys from off a hook on the wall.

"After you," Zak said, opening the front door for me.

"Thank you kind sir," I teased, trying not to laugh as I walked outside.

"You're welcome, ma'am," Zak replied as he followed me outside, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Eww, don't ever call me that again!" I said. "Makes a girl feel old," I added, laughing, as I wasn't really mad at him.

Zak laughed.

"Noted, ma'am," Zak replied, trying not to laugh.

I jokingly glared at him, and then playfully hit him in the arm with my purse.

"Ow! That thing is a deadly weapon!" Zak jokingly whined, rubbing his arm like I had hurt him, and I laughed.

"Big baby," I teased, and began walking toward the car, Zak laughing as he followed me.

Roughly 25 minutes later…

Zak pulled into a parking space in front of the building, and parked the car. We both got out, and Zak came around and gently took my hand in his, and I smiled and squeezed his hand, earning me a smile in return. Then we both headed inside.

We stopped at a desk shortly after entering, and Zak gave our names and told the woman behind the desk that we were there to volunteer. After checking their volunteer list and finding our names, she went and got a NSPCA staff member who would show us around, and help us with our volunteer duties.

After a few minutes, the lady returned with another woman. She was young, probably in her mid twenties. She smiled as she walked up to meet us.

"Hi guys, I'm Kim," she said. "Thank you for coming in to help us today," she added.

"No problem, happy to help," Zak said, shaking her hand. "I'm Zak, and this is Ali," Zak added.

"Thank you for letting us come in on such short notice," I replied, shaking Kim's hand as well.

"No trouble at all," Kim replied, smiling. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to do?" Kim asked.

I looked up at Zak, and he smiled at me.

"Up to you," Zak said.

I smiled and looked back at Kim.

"Anything we can do to help," I said, truly wanting to help out in any way I could.

"Awesome," Kim replied. "Well, since you're here early, it's time to feed the animals. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," I said, smiling.

"Alright, follow me," Kim said, and began leading us through the shelter.

As we walked, she told us more about the shelter, and what kind of animals they currently had with them. They had numerous dogs and cats, but also some smaller animals like rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters. She also informed us that they had a Polish rooster they had rescued.

"A Polish rooster? Really?" I asked in shock, finding it a bit funny, but obviously was thankful the shelter had saved it.

"Yes," Kim said, laughing. "You're not the first volunteer to react like that," Kim added, as she began leading us down a hall.

Zak and I both laughed, and then, as we progressed down the hall, we started hearing the telltale signs of dogs and puppies.

Barking. Lots and lots of barking.

I couldn't help but smile in excitement.

Kim led us into the area where they kept the dogs, and they began barking even more.

"So, we already have bowls set out for each of them. I'll show you how we feed them," Kim said, leading us over to a table where there were bags of dog food and some scoops.

Because it could get quite hectic trying to feed all the dogs at once, we had to take them out one at a time and put them on a leash. We'd lead them to a bowl, and give them the appropriate serving size depending on the size of the dog.

Since there was the two of us, Kim said we could each take a dog at a time.

Zak let me get set up with a dog first, Kim leading me to the first dog in the first enclosure. Kim informed me it was a female, light brown & white Australian Cattle Dog that was 8 months old, and her name was Daisy.

When Daisy saw us, she started barking and wagging her tail furiously, and she almost seemed to be doing a happy dance, continuously shifting on her paws in excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hi Daisy, you're so cute," I said, as I watched Kim open the door to her enclosure, and then kneel down and put the leash on her – which wasn't easy, since Daisy wouldn't sit still.

"This girl is very high energy," Kim said, laughing as she stood back up, and handed the leash to me.

"I can see that," I replied, laughing, and took hold of the leash as Daisy came bouncing out of the enclosure. "Is it okay if I pick her up?" I asked, unable to resist.

"Sure," Kim said, smiling.

I bent down and let Daisy smell my hand first, to make sure she was okay with me. After smelling my hand for a few seconds, she licked my hand a few times, and continued wagging her tail as she looked up at me.

Since she seemed perfectly fine with me, I carefully picked her up, and pulled her close to my chest and held her close. She continued to wag her tail, and began licking my face and I laughed, leaning my head back a bit so she could only lick my cheek.

"Someone definitely loves you," Zak said, and when I looked at him, I saw that he had his phone out and was filming me, but I didn't mind.

"Oh, I think I'm in love with her already too," I replied, laughing as Daisy continued licking my face. "Come on sweetie, let's get you some breakfast," I said, as I carried her over to the table where the dog food was.

Since she wasn't too big, I was able to hold her with one arm, while I used my other arm to get an appropriate size scoop of dog food, and walked over to one of the bowls set on the floor.

I carefully kneeled down and set Daisy on the floor, and went to pour the food into the dish, but she tried to eat the food right out of the scoop.

"Wait until I get it in the dish!" I exclaimed, laughing, as I gently held her back with my hand.

Once I poured the food into the dish, I let her go, and Daisy dived into the dish and began eating.

"Good girl," I said, gently patting her back before standing back up, knowing not to disturb dogs when they were eating. "Was that okay?" I asked Kim, as I held onto Daisy's leash.

"You were great!" Kim said, and I smiled. "You're turn Zak," Kim added.

"Here," I said, reaching my free hand out to take Zak's phone, so I could record him.

He smiled and let me take the phone, and then walked over to the second enclosure with Kim.

"This is Pepper, she's a five-year-old Terrier and Collie mix," Kim said, as she opened the enclosure door, and knelt down to put the leash on her.

"Oh sure, give her the puppies, and give me the adults," Zak jokingly said, and Kim and I both laughed.

I filmed Zak as Pepper came out and interacted with him. She was sweet and friendly, and had no issues with Zak. He didn't pick her up, since she was a fairly large dog, but he got down on his knees to pet her and talk to her.

It made my heart melt as I watched him and continued to film him with his phone, making sure to check on Daisy often as she ate.

This was such a good idea… I thought to myself, smiling, and feeling happier than I had in a long time.

Zak and I spent several hours at the shelter.

After we had fed the dogs, we fed the cats, and then fed the smaller animals – including the Polish rooster.

After that, we went and helped out some of the veterinarians that worked in the shelter. We obviously couldn't do a whole lot, but we helped clean some minor wounds, and helped to keep the animals calm and comforted during some check ups and other small tasks.

Once enough time had passed that the animals had eaten and had something to drink, we were able to sit in an enclosure where several puppies were unleashed on us. Zak and I had laughed and played with all of them, taking turns picking them up and giving each of them individual attention. Daisy by far was my favourite, and I probably tended to her a bit more often than I should have. When the puppies got tired, we had the same experience with kittens, and then with rabbits.

After that, we were allowed to go outside with some of the older dogs and play fetch with them, each of us taking turns throwing a ball or a frisbee, depending on what each dog preferred.

By the end of it, we were worn out and covered in fur, but it had been so much fun.

"Thank you so much for suggesting that Zak…I had so much fun," I said, after Zak and I had gotten in his car.

"You're welcome, doll," Zak said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "It was fun, but it was even better to see you enjoying yourself so much," Zak added, smiling at me.

I smiled, and leaned over and kissed his cheek in return.

"I want to ask you something before we leave," Zak said, suddenly sounding serious as he watched me.

I couldn't help feeling a bit nervous.

"Okay," I replied, unsure of how to react.

"Do you want to adopt Daisy?" Zak asked.

"What?" I asked in shock, as I had not been expecting that at all.

"You two got along so well, and I saw how you couldn't get enough of her during puppy playtime," Zak said, smiling. "Kim mentioned to me privately she thinks we'd be a great home for her," Zak added.

I smiled at Zak's admission of what Kim had said, but I was still in shock.

"I don't know, I honestly never thought about it while we were in there…" I said, glancing at the shelter, and then looking back at Zak. "What about Gracie? I wouldn't want to upset her…" I said, genuinely concerned.

I loved Gracie as much as if she were my own dog, even though Zak had been referring to Gracie as "our dog" for a while now.

"I think she'd be okay, but the shelter does require a meet and greet before adopting anyway, just to make sure they get along," Zak said, and then reached over and rested one of his hands over mine. "We both know Gracie still has plenty of that puppy energy," Zak said, laughing.

I laughed too, nodding in agreement.

"I don't know…Daisy is adorable, and so sweet…but I'm worried it might be too much with my depression…" I said softly, and I saw Zak frown slightly.

"I hadn't thought of that…I'm sorry," Zak said, gently stroking the top of my hand.

"It's okay," I said, not upset or mad with him. I paused briefly before speaking again. "I think I need some time to think about it…I don't want to rush into it, not when I'm still struggling," I said, hoping Zak would understand.

He immediately nodded, and squeezed my hand.

"That's fine, I understand," Zak replied. "I'll let Kim know we need some time to think about it," Zak added.

"Alright…I hope that's okay…" I said, a little unsure if I had hurt Zak with my answer.

"Of course it's okay," Zak said, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "You're right, we shouldn't rush it," Zak said, giving me a reassuring smile.

I smiled and felt relieved.

"Thank you for thinking of that though, and for being willing," I said.

Zak smiled and squeezed my hand gently, before letting it go.

"No need to thank me," Zak said. "Let me just run in and tell Kim, I told her I'd get back to her," Zak said.

"Sure," I said, nodding.

Zak smiled, and then got out of the car and jogged back to the entrance and walked inside.