From Emotional Bondage to Blissful Love: Michaela's Journey

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Michaela thought as she paced the floor of the kennel.

She'd been working on a new marketing campaign for what had seemed like forever and finally, finally, she was going to be off work early! She knew it would only be an hour or so, but that was all she needed to get away from the office for a little bit. She had even gotten permission from her boss to go! She was so excited that she had even brought him some pastries from a local cafe to thank him.

Michaela took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she looked into the glass enclosure of the kennel. Several dogs were inside, all with varying sizes and shapes. Some of them seemed to have their noses pressed against the glass and Michaela smiled at the eagerness of the animals. She had never been around dogs much before, but she knew enough to know that most breeds liked a good rub behind the ear and some affection to be happy.

"So which one do you want?" asked the woman standing behind Michaela.

The woman was older than Michaela and seemed to have some experience in training dogs. Her hair was greying slightly but her eyes were bright and lively. When Michaela had first walked into the kennel, she had been relieved to see someone who didn't look like they would take her money and send her on her way without an animal because of how inexperienced she seemed.

"Well...I don't really know." said Michaela with a nervous smile as she looked at some of the more friendly looking animals. "You have such pretty dogs here."

Michaela looked down at her shoes as she spoke, trying not to show just how scared she was that this woman would laugh at her when she found out why Michaela wanted a dog. As if sensing Michaela's anxiety, the older woman put a hand on her shoulder and led her over to where there were several puppies in an open pen with their mother dog. The puppies were wagging their tails excitedly while the mother simply lounged in an old piece of carpet in the corner of their pen.

"These ones are about seven weeks old now." said the woman as Michaela played with some of them happily. "They're not up for adoption yet but I took them out today because it's been raining outside for days now."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Michaela as she giggled happily at how cute they were. "They're so tiny!"

"They'll grow up quickly though." said the woman as she laughed along with Michaela at how small they were compared to normal sized dogs. "But I think we've got something special here."

One of the puppies sniffed curiously at Michaela's shoes before nosing his way up her leg until he reached her hand where he began licking it enthusiastically despite his small size.

"Oh my gosh..." whispered Michaela as she looked down at puppy in delight before picking him up carefully in order not to hurt him too much. "He likes me!"

The puppy continued licking Michaela's hand while she cuddled him close while laughing happily along with the older woman who stood beside them watching them both with a smile on her face. After several minutes, Michaela looked up at the woman and blushed slightly before asking: "So...how much is he? I want him!"