New snapshot!
Snapshot: January 19, 2013
"It smells strange in here." Brennan remarked as they walked through the door of North Shore Animal League in Long Island, New York.
"Well, it's an animal shelter, Bones. Were you expecting roses?" Booth teased.
Brennan looked at him, quizzically. "No, of course not. Dogs and cats do not naturally smell like roses, so that would be-Oh! You were joking."
Booth nodded, smiling widely. In his arms, Cristina was snoozing. They'd had a long drive to the New York shelter where Brennan's publisher had recommended they go to find the perfect puppy for their little girl. They'd even offered to pay for transportation and adoption fees, but Booth had denied.
He wanted to pay for her pet himself, and thankfully the shelter only charged about $200 for adoption…
And they had a pretty wide variety, at that.
"Look at that little guy, Bones!" Booth said pointing to a Mastiff puppy, who was looking up at them from his cage with big brown eyes.
Brennan smiled. "He does look cute, but I think he'll grow to be much too large for Cristina."
Booth pouted. "But I thought we were gonna get a big dog!" he practically whined, sounding very much like Parker.
"We are…just not that big." she pointed to the pup's mother, who, though lying down, towered over the small puppy.
Booth grimaced. "Maybe you're right, Bones. How about…there! The Dalmatian!"
Brennan shook her head. "I never liked those dogs."
"Why not?"
"I don't think there's a logical reason why, actual. I just never liked them."
Booth grinned but didn't comment on his wife's statement. "Well, how about we wake Cristina up so she can choose who she wants to be her best buddy for life."
"Booth, it's highly unlikely that the puppy will live past her sixteenth birthday, if that long. It will more likely be her childhood companion to be replaced in her adolescence by another."
Booth just shook his head. "Whatever, Bones. Let's just get the baby up so she can choose."
Brennan nodded and leaned down to where Cristina was in her father's arms, snuggling with her stuffed puppy, Popo. "Cristina." she whispered, gently stroking the baby's soft hair. "Wake up, Sweetheart." she said, rousing the little girl from sleep.
One tiny blue eye opened and closed, Cristina making a moaning sound. "No." she said, turning into Booth's chest.
Booth chuckled at Brennan's disappointed face. "Hey, that's how you acted this morning." he pointed out.
Brennan glared and he laughed again, leaning down to whisper in Cristina's ear. "Look, baby. We got you a puppy." he said.
She wrinkled her nose for a moment, before her crystal blue eyes popped open. "Puppy?" she murmured, turning once more in Booth's arms.
Booth and Brennan watched in amusement as her eyes widened further and her lips spread in an adorably excited smile. She looked up at Brennan, who now leant against Booth's shoulder. "My puppy?" she asked, pointing to herself.
Brennan nodded. "Just one, though, but you get to choose."
If possible, Cristina's smile widened even further, and she leaned up to plant sloppy kisses on her parents' cheeks, before wriggling her way out of Booth's arms. Booth kneeled down to let her go and watched in amusement as she wobbled slightly on unstable legs before gaining her balance and slowly walking down the aisles of cages lined with puppies of all different breeds, before she stopped next a small cage, smiling at the puppy with big, blue eyes that looked back at her. She tilted her head to the side and the puppy did the same. She giggled and the puppy yipped. Cautiously she placed her hand on the cage and the puppy immediately began to lick her fingers, making her giggle.
Cristina looked up to see her parents coming over. "Mama! Puppy!" she pointed to the cage, with the blue-eyed puppy. Brennan smiled and walked over to her, kneeling down next to her and looking into the cage, attracting the attention of the small puppy inside. She smiled at the puppy and put out her hand for him to sniff. He licked her hand with abandon, causing Brennan to snort out a laugh at the tickle.
Then her eyes widened as she made note of the breed: Siberian Husky/ Mastiff mix. "This is the one you want?" Brennan asked her daughter, a bit uneasily.
Cristina nodded. "My puppy!" she stated, proudly.
Brennan sighed, then looked over at Booth. "Booth, could you come here please?"
Booth looked up from the Rottweiler puppy he was playing with and walked over to them. "What's up, Bones? Is this our guy?" he smiled down at the small, blue-eyed puppy. "Hey! A husky! And look, Bones, he's got eyes like you and Crissy!"
"Booth, he's not a pure breed." Brennan said, sighing as the puppy attempted to lick Booth's outreached hand through the bars of his cage.
"Oh, really?" Booth said, absently. "What's he mixed with?"
"A Mastiff." Brennan said, pointedly, emphasizing the type of dog that they'd wanted to avoid.
Booth's eyed widened. "Oh, well…maybe he won't grow to be so big." he supplied, hopefully.
Brennan shook her head. "By the size of his paws, I would say that he's going to be at least…30 inches."
Booth let out a low whistle. "Geez!" She turned to Cristina. "You sure this is the one you want, Baby?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Cristina nodded enthusiastically. "My puppy!"
Booth sighed and turned to Brennan. "I'm alright with it as long as he doesn't hurt her."
"Not likely." Brennan said. "Domesticated dogs tend to be very gentle with young children, especially when growing up in an environment with them. This should be no different. My only concern is the amount of food both Mastiffs and Huskies consume. And how much they shed. Plus, they need plenty of exercise."
"Well, you know, we can work on food, we've got money for it. And shedding comes from every dog. We just gotta make sure he's properly groomed. And we've got a big yard, Bones. Plus there's a dog park nearby. It should be fine."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she smiled slightly. "I hope so." she murmured, watching as Cristina pet the puppy through the bars of his cage.
Half an hour later, they were standing at a counter, the puppy on the floor playing with Cristina, attached to the other end of a leash held by Brennan. Booth and Brennan were signing papers for the puppy's adoption, and paying the adoption fee.
"Just sign here and here." The woman behind the counter said. "And what would you like to name him?"
Booth and Brennan both looked down at Cristina. "What's his name, Crissy?" Booth asked.
Cristina looked at the puppy, focusing on him with her intense blue gaze, looking much like Brennan when she studied bones. The puppy stopped what he was doing and just stared back at her, with a slightly curious look on his face.
He had dark fur covering most of his body, and gray fur along his belly ending at his forehead, though he had a spot over his eyes that made it look as if he was wearing a mask. Booth though he looked akin to a raccoon.
Cristina though seemed to have a different animal in mind. "Teddy Bear!" she exclaimed, smiling brilliantly.
Booth and Brennan grinned. "Alright." Booth said. "Teddy Bear it is." He nodded to the woman at the counter and she signed the name on the certificate.
"Would you like to make a name tag for only five dollars more?" she asked.
Booth nodded. "Why not?" he said, putting down their information and giving it to the woman to type into the machine.
She turned the screen to him. "Pick a design please."
Booth grinned as he chose a silver bone from the display scene. "This one." he said, smiling at Brennan, who nudged him.
The woman smiled. "Good choice. Now, if you're looking for pet supplies, there's a store just down the way, and if you're from out of state there's a hotel a couple of miles from here that allows dogs, just in case you don't want to stay the whole night here." She wrote down a couple of addresses and handed them to Brennan, who thanked her.
There was a beeping sound from behind her and she turned to take a small, finished dog tag out of a machine slot, and handed it to them. "Here you are. Teddy Bear Booth."
Booth smiled and kneeled down to slip the tag on the puppy's complimentary blue collar. "Looking spiffy, boy." he said, smiling as the puppy licked his fingers. Booth chuckled and pat the dog's head, before standing up again. "Thank you." he said, taking back his credit card and the adoption papers.
"No problem." the woman said. "Just one more thing." She took a Polaroid camera out from one of the counter draws. "For the wall." she pointed to a wall behind them, littered with photos of families with their new pets.
Booth and Brennan nodded and Booth took Cristina in his arms while Brennan picked up Teddy, stroking his ears affectionately. The woman snapped two photos of the lovely family, handing one of the pictures to them.
Booth and Brennan smiled at the photo of them standing there, holding Cristina and Teddy, the latter licking the former's cheek, while she smiled adorably.
Booth looked down at Teddy. "Welcome to the family, Ted." he said, affectionately rubbing the puppy's ears.
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