It had taken Harvey two weeks to decide he was keeping the damned dog.
Oscar—he kept the name Mike had suggested—had turned out to be extremely well behaved, despite what his previous owner had inflicted upon him. Harvey had expected the mutt to show at least a distaste for the veterinarian he'd taken him to, but instead the dog had proven to be highly amiable and cooperative.
After ensuring he didn't have rabies or whatnot, Harvey took him home to meet Stuart.
He'd been certain that his cat would have forced him to abandon the dog, but Stuart had surprised him. The cat had opened his eyes, peering down at Oscar from his position atop Harvey's couch, and stared lazily.
Oscar had cocked his head to the side, given a sniff, and then, ignoring Stuart, proceeded to rub against every item of furniture in Harvey's condo. Harvey supposed it was better than the alternative method of marking one's territory, and so he gritted his teeth and carefully picked up the fur the beast left on his teakwood floors.
He had attempted to ask Donna to get rid of the dog immediately after the incident with Mike, but she'd simply looked at him like she was debating where the best place to hide his body was, so he'd decided to seriously consider keeping Oscar instead.
The next time he'd thought of getting rid of the mutt had been the very next day, when he'd been about to call someone to pick him up after he'd knocked over one of his more expensive sculptures and chewed on the case of his Star Trek Season One box set. But as he was dialing the number, Oscar had stared pitifully up at him, and Harvey was reminded of Mike. He found himself envisioning the kid with tears of anger and hurt in his eyes, and suddenly Harvey really did feel heartless. Something had twisted in his gut as he realized that Mike would never forgive him for getting rid of the damned dog, and Harvey knew he had to keep it.
Maybe a dog wasn't such a bad idea, anyway. He could take him on his morning runs, and now Stuart wouldn't be so lonely.
So Harvey now found himself with two roommates instead of one. But he couldn't help feeling like he was still missing something at home.
By the second week of Oscar's inclusion into his life, Harvey had acquired a leash, a collar, a dog bed, dog dishes, chew toys (so his collector's items would stay safe), and dog food. He'd also grabbed a few new items for Stuart so he wouldn't feel neglected; Harvey didn't need a repeat of that particular incident. Though secretly, he hoped the two wouldn't get along, if only so he'd have an excuse to have Mike return, not that Harvey would ever let himself seriously listen to such nonsense.
But now that Oscar was living with him, Harvey couldn't help but be reminded constantly of Mike. Every time he looked at the canine he recalled the image of a smiling and gleeful kid with bright blue eyes and a fine ass.
This vision angered Harvey. It forced him to realize not only that he had a special attraction to the fraudulent fake animal psychic, but that he had no control over his own imagination.
He was now more determined than ever to forget about the damned kid.