#also there are dogs

[trashpandato]

Treats and Collars

Hey, can you take care of the till for a few minutes? I have a mom and son who want a fish.”

Kara nodded. 

“Sure thing.”

Winn grinned and practically bounced towards the young mother hovering near the fish tanks and Kara shook her head smiling. He was about to put on a show and she knew how much he loved this, helping newbies with their first foray into the world of freshwater fish, tanks, and all the accessories needed to introduce a pet fish to the family. She caught the first two sentences of Winn launching into his signature speech about the wonderful world of goldfish and their friends before she turned towards the checkout counter.

The pet store wasn’t particularly busy that afternoon. It was a Wednesday, too late for the people who came in on their lunch breaks to pick up supplies, and too early for the after-work crowd. It gave Kara some time to organize the selection of cat and dog treats they kept right near the checkout area to encourage last minute impulse purchases. 

She lost herself in the task. She loved this job, this store. At first, she had only agreed to work here part-time as a favor to James when he opened the store a few years ago. It had seemed like a strange step for him at the time. He’d left his job as a photographer for a local newspaper, saying that he was tired of taking endless photos of the mayor and his cronies, chasing one ribbon-cutting photo-op after another. Kara had understood, having listened to many of his rants about his job over the years. But the move to open a pet store had been unexpected nonetheless, prompting some pointed remarks from James’ friend group and his sister. Seeing the initial pushback he was faced with, Kara decided to be a counterweight to that and offered her support and her time for a few shifts here and there. And sure, maybe some of her motivation at the time was that she liked James, as in liked liked him, so spending more time around him seemed like a good idea. But even after they both decided to be friends and only friends, Kara stuck to her commitment to help him out.

Three years later, she was still here and loved every minute of what had turned into a full-time gig instead of the occasional shift here and there. Eliza sometimes questioned Kara’s motives for working at the store and reminded her that she had completed college with excellent grades and had every opportunity to find a real career. And Kara agreed with her. She wasn’t planning on working here for the rest of her life. But for now, and until she had a clearer idea for what to do next, this job was perfect. She got to meet new people every day, help them with their questions about the various pet products they sold, and best of all, many customers brought in their dogs to help them pick out food or treats or a new toy, which meant that on any given day, Kara got to interact with at least one dog, often more.

Best job ever.

Kara was very good at it, too. The store had many customers, mostly those with dogs or cats at home, who would come in specifically asking for her. Winn, on the other hand, was the go-to guy for folks looking for fish or reptiles, and Kara happily deferred to his expertise in those cases. Overall, many of their customers would travel well out of their way to come to the store simply because they cherished Kara’s and Winn’s friendly and knowledgeable service, a fact that prompted James to hang a large banner in the store about a year after they opened that proudly declared it to be the Best in the Galaxy. It was a little over the top maybe, but Kara still smiled when James hung it up with a broad grin on his face.

So yes, Kara loved her job, loved interacting with customers, especially the four-legged ones, and she always made sure to keep a jar of high-quality treats near the cash register so she could hand them out to the dogs that came to the store. She was in the middle of refilling said jar when she noticed a new customer approaching the checkout area and immediately launched into a well-worn routine before the person had even fully stepped up to the counter.

“Hi, welcome to Super Pets. Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Where Kara usually received a clear yes or no answer, the woman who now stood in front of her merely let out a small chuckle.

“Super Pets. Who on earth came up with that name?”

Feeling somewhat defensive, Kara straightened her shoulders and made eye contact. The woman was young, around Kara’s age, and for a moment Kara wondered if she was some famous celebrity, mostly because she was hiding half of her face behind a pair of oversized expensive-looking sunglasses. But even without seeing her eyes, Kara could tell the woman was beautiful. Long dark hair, pale skin, a sharp jaw and bright red lips that held a small smirk that made Kara’s stomach feel funny.

“I mean, presumably you are here to buy something for your pet, who you love and who is awesome. Some might even say super. So…”

The smirk on the woman’s face bloomed into a proper smile and Kara couldn’t help but smile right back.

“But if you really want to know, my friend James, who owns the store, came up with the name. Though I would say it was a bit of a group effort that involved a few friends, too many drinks and some board games.”

“Ah,” the woman said, amusement clear in her voice ”so the name was properly tested in a focus group.”

Now it was Kara’s turn to chuckle.

“Sure. Let’s go with that.”

The woman nodded, still smiling, and slid a dog leash towards Kara before pulling out her wallet to pay for it.

Kara didn’t know why she had to make a comment about it. Maybe it was because she felt a little dazed from their little back-and-forth so far, or maybe she didn’t want their interaction to end too quickly, so as she pulled the leash towards her to scan the tag, she said:

“And who’s this for?”

The woman paused for a few seconds, long enough for Kara to wonder if she had crossed a line, said something wrong, though she couldn’t imagine why her simple question might have come across as offensive. But then the woman leaned forward a little, as if she was about to share an important secret.

“Oh, it’s for bad girls who don’t behave.”

Read the rest on AO3

[canineentity]

“Why’d you do that?” Please remember that I am using what I’ve seen in humans to mimic them

[gongyussy]

MONKEY MAN (2024)

[cometiny]

you can shake him. he enjoys it

[canisalbus]

✦ Bread ✦

[the-game-spirit]

sometimes a piece of media just! grabs you by the throat and says, "hey buddy! I'm gonna irrevocably alter your brain chemistry now! have fun with that!!"

and then you just ! gotta deal with that ! you guess !!

[adriles]

they are Cancelling me for dealing with my grief as best i can . also for the vicious war Crimes

[spicymancer]

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Dog Girl

[ink-the-artist]

Love the contrast between the Americans’ “Apollo” and the Soviets’ “Sputnik.” You got the Americans naming their rocket after a Greek god trying to communicate the grandness and importance of this rocket. And you got the Soviets naming their rocket “fellow traveler.” Like a friend you go on an  adventure with together. This rocket is our little friend lol 

[podcastwizard]

this will not be a bridgerton blog but for the foreseeable future i will not be thinking about anything other than bridgerton

(original post @romanceyourdemons)

[cowboybrunch]

i love when characters get angry when they're frightened. shelter dog characters. i love when they bite, not able to tell the difference between a hand that feeds and a hand that strikes. there is no difference. a hand is a hand is a fist. i love characters that are deemed unadoptable. unlovable.

and i love when someone loves them. i love when someone sits with them, patient. they don't flinch at the snarling and snapping. they're not trying to fix it—there's nothing to be fixed. this is you, all of you, and ill wait. because one day, one day you'll take the treat. go on, draw my blood. spit and curse and rage. you're safe with me. one day, you'll feel safe with me.

[ochiody]

give odysseus loser hair please. thanks supergiant

[150en]

New member of the 4/5Gs: Guilt trip-- I mean Good Boy!! [Wild Life Ep.5]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Dog Meshi.

[ukkigirl]

i do think youre an attention whore if you bring your dog everywhere in public