[Brian Harris]

He stood outside the doors of the building, wringing his hands nervously. The building was neither particularly tall nor particularly wide, but in that moment, it seemed incredibly large.

”You can do it Brian!”

Brian took a deep breath, and stepped forward to open the door, when someone else’s hand touched the handle before his. ”Oh, sorry.” Brian said instinctively, withdrawing his hand.

He person grinned at him. ”You here for the event?”

”Uh...yeah.” Brian said, voice quivering slightly, but trying his best to sound normal despite it all.

The person simply smiled at him and nodded before walking inside.

”Okay now I really don’t want to go in.” Brian mumbled.

”It would be beneficial for you to enter the building.”

”You should go inside, Brian.”

“Pussy.”

”Oh hush, you.”

Brian took another deep, deep breath, looking again at the glass door displaying an advertisement for their emotional support dog adoption event. ”Now or never.” He said under his breath, and he opened the door.

Exactly one week and three days ago, Brian had told his therapist about Isaiah. About their meeting at the dog park, the metahuman attacking the bank, how they chased after her and how he deescalated the situation (which his therapist praised him heavily for), but more than anything he found himself hung up on Isaiah’s dogs: Cesar and Athena. How happy he felt around them, how much calmer he felt in their presence.

Fortunately, it was his therapist that suggested the idea. Brian would’ve felt embarrassed assigning a treatment to himself. The therapist proposed that Brian invest in an emotional support animal. All expenses would be covered under the MNRU, so he wouldn’t have to worry about food or vet bills or anything like that. And, he said, that there was a nearby establishment partnered with the MNRU that trained emotional support dogs. They had an adoption event every other month. Their next event was in one week and three days.

One week and three days later…

Brian entered the building. He could smell the scent of dogs almost as soon as he stepped inside. Three people stood behind a counter at the back of the room. A friendly looking woman smiled at him. “Are you here for the adoption event?” She asked in a calm yet perky tone.

Brian simply nodded.

“Alright then, follow me.”

She led him down a long hallway, doors lining either side. Every now and then Brian could briefly see a person petting or playing with a dog through the windows. He didn’t stop to get a closer look, however. He didn’t want to be intrusive or nosy. Though he did note that all these people looked quite happy.

They rounded a corner and walked toward the end of the hallway toward yet another door. The woman stepped forward and opened the door for him. “Here we are.”

He hesitated slightly before walking inside, taking in his surroundings. All around the edges of the room were dogs, typically medium to large size, but there were a few lapdogs here and there. They sat almost perfectly still, tails wagging occasionally, leaning forward to accept a pet or sniff a hand or two. There were seven or eight other people in the room, four or five seemed to be pursuing the animals. Accompanying the potential adopters were what looked to be a specialists, giving them information on the animals as they stopped by.

As soon as Brian stepped into the room, a man who was standing vigilant in the corner of the room quickly walked toward him. “Hi,” he said, putting out a hand, “I’m Mark. I’m one of the trainers here.” Brian tentatively met his hand with his own. Mark gave him a firm handshake.

”B-Brian.” He said, almost forgetting to introduce himself.

“Nice to meet you, Brian.” He turned toward the woman. “Thank you, Kara.” Kara smiled, nodded, and left, letting the door close behind her. “So, did you have any kind of dog in mind?”

”I, um, uh…” Brian looked around the room again, but this time something caught his eye. A dog was sitting in the back of the room. He hadn’t been able to see her previously, someone was likely blocking the way. Now that he could see her, she stood out immediately. In a room full of Labradors and Golden Retrievers, she was certainly unique. Her body was wide and muscley, at least a third larger than any other dog in the room; her head was twice the size of any dog’s maybe more. Atop her large head sat small, pointy ears. The light shimmered off her short, dark brown fur. Drool dripped down from her large, dangling jowls which hung from her snout. She sat alone in the back of the room, staring off into the distance with her big, droopy, chocolate brown eyes.

”She’s scary.”

”She’s disgusting.”

”She’s fucking ugly.”

She was perfect.

He slowly crossed the room, walking as if all the other dogs didn’t exist, Mark trailing close behind. She turned to look at him as she noticed him walking toward her, her short, stubby tail wagging as he approached. He barely had to kneel down to pet her. He started gently scratching her head. A low, grumbly hum emanated from deep within the dog as she leaned her head toward his hand.

“That’s Lily. She’s a Cane Corso mix. One hundred and thirty pounds.” Mark informed him.

“Hey Lily.” Brian smiled, continuing to scratch her gigantic head.

“She’s two years three months. I’ve worked with her personally ever since she was a little pup.” Mark said with some pride.

Brian could hardly imagine how cute she must’ve been as a puppy.

”She looks like those evil dogs they have in movies.”

“She’s been here for a while. Cane Corso ain’t really the typical breed for an ESA.”

Brian sat down in front of Lily and started scratching her jaw. She leaned forward to sniff his face and gave him a gentle lick on the chin.

“She likes you.” Mark grinned. “You okay with getting licked? They ain’t really supposed to do that unless you give the okay.”

“Yeah. I don’t mind kisses.” He found himself saying, his face reddening slightly at his choice of word, but he found his anxiety was quickly calmed as he stroked Lily’s head, her gentle, brown eyes looking into his.

“Kiss!” Mark commanded. Lily turned her head, giving Brian’s arm a couple kisses with her big, sloppy tongue before returning to her position, licking her lips. Brian’s smile widened into a grin.

”Lily is a good dog.” Tect said in its robotic, emotionless voice.

“Well I gotta say, this seems like love at first sight.” Mark said, grinning proudly. “Wanna take her into a private room, give her a spin?”

”Yeah.” Brian said,not quite comprehending his words at first. ”Yeah sure, um, absolutely.”

Mark lowered his voice. “I have to inform you that she's got a little bit of pit bull in her. I don’t know if that affects your decision at all...”

“No. Not at all.”

“Alright then. Lily, come!” Mark commanded. Lily immediately got up and walked to Mark’s side. “Come on.” He said to Brian. Brian got up and Mark led the two into one of the rooms Brian passed on his way down the hall, closing the door behind them as they stepped inside.

”She’s gonna rip your throat out.”

“Alright, so we’re gonna go over a couple commands.” Mark said, turning toward Lily. “Sit!” Lily sat down. “Up!” Lily stood back up. “Good girl, Lily.” He praised. Lily wagged her tail. “Alright, now you try.” He said to Brian.

“Lily.” Brian said. The dog turned toward him, her warm, droopy eyes meeting his. “Sit.” He felt the urge to add a ‘please’ to his command, but thought better of it. She sat down. “Um, uh...up.” She stood back up. ”Good girl, Lily. Good girl.” He gave her a hearty scratch on the back as she vigorously wagged her tail, her bottom wiggling along with it.

Mark’s wide smile matched Brian’s. “Alright, now here’s something else along the same lines. Lily!” She turned back toward him. “Down!” She laid down. “Up!” She stood back up. “Good girl.” He praised, her tail wagging. “You’re turn.” He told Brian.

”Lily!” Brian called. ”Down!” Lily laid down, her tail continuing to wag. ”Up!” She quickly stood back up. ”Good girl.” He said softly, scratching behind her ear, producing a low moan from her.

“Good, very good!” Mark said. “Now this one’s a fun one. Lily!” She turned toward Mark. He leaned down slightly and put a hand out. “Shake!” Lily placed her paw in his open hand. “Good girl!” He ruffled her head. “Give it a shot!” He told Brian.

”Lily, shake!” Lily turned toward him and stuck a paw out in the air, but it simply fell back to the ground.

“You need to put your hand out.”

”Oh, um, sorry.” He apologized to Lily. He bent over and held his hand out. ”Shake!” She put her paw and his hand. Brian grinned, shaking her paw up and down as if she were a person. She licked her lips, then suddenly shook her head, jowls flapping, slobber flying. Brian laughed a little, guarding his face with his free hand as he gently dropped her paw with his other.

“Yeah, she does that.” Mark said. “Hope you don’t mind.”

”Not at all. It’s…”

“Disgusting”

“Icky”

”...cute.”

“Well that’s the first I’ve heard it described like that, but I’m glad to hear it!”

They went over a few more basic commands, Lily always wagging her tail when it was Brian’s turn to give her an order. Brian found that he couldn’t stop smiling. It was so elating to feel the unconditional love and adoration he felt from Lily. He couldn’t recall ever receiving that from anybody. He also found his anxiety was greatly diminished. Typically in this kind of situation with a stranger, his mind would be buzzing, he’d be second guessing everything he said, but with Lily he felt calm. He felt - almost - normal.

“Alright, now for the really fun stuff. Lily, come!” Lily walked over to his side. “Heel!” Mark started walking around the room, Lily walking right by his side. “You don’t technically need to say heel, she’ll stay by your side no matter what, but heel’s to command we usually use so.” He shrugged his shoulders. He picked up the pace as he talked until he was practically jogging, Lily stayed right by his side the entire time. Then finally he slowed and came to a stop across the room from Brian. “Now you call her over.”

“Lily, come!” The dog immediately pranced over to his side. “Good girl.” He praised, giving her a scratch on the head. She looked up at him with her big, droopy eyes and licked her lips. ”Heel!” He said as he started walking around the room, Lily staying by his side, even as he picked up the pace and slowed down. Eventually he came to a stop, bending over slightly to give Lily a little pet on the head.

“Excellent! You’re supposed to have her on a leash out in public, but as you can see, you don’t technically need one. Does he girl?” He walked over to her and gave her a little scratch behind the ear. “Now I love this one. Go over there and sit down.” He said, pointing across the room.

”He’s ordering you like a dog.”

Brain obeyed, walking over to where Mark pointed and sitting down, criss-cross.

“Now pat your lap.”

Brian gave his lap a pat and Lily pranced over to him, sat down next to him, and leaned against him.

“Now give her a big ol’ hug!”

Brian wrapped his arms around Lily and she leaned into the embrace.

“Anytime you feel overwhelmed or anxious or just feel like you need a friend, just give your lap a pat and she’ll come over and snuggle!”

Brian grinned, ruffling Lily’s head.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Kara poked her head in. “Mark? I need you for a bit.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back. You two stay there.” He told Brian and Lily as he left the room.

Brian gave Lily a vigorous pet. She emitted a low hum as he scratched her fur. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Lily was big, but Brian was also quite big. He looked down at his lap. She could fit. Kind of. He pat his lap again. ”Come on!” He urged. She gave him a look. She seemed confused. ”Come on! Up here!” He pat his lap some more. She delicately put a paw on his leg. ”Good girl! Come on! Don’t worry, I can take it!” She placed her paw in the space between his legs. ”Come on girl! Come on!” She slowly stepped onto his lap. ”Good girl! Down!” She laid down, managing to fit about two third of her body on his lap. The feeling of her large, warm body on top of his legs, her side pressed against his stomach, was so comforting and relaxing and overall elating. Brian could swore he’d never been happier in his life. ”Good girl!” He praised, scratching her head. ”Good girl!” He smiled wide, placing his face close to hers. ”Kiss!” She gave him a couple licks on the chin and one on the nose as he giggled. ”You’re such a good girl.” He cooed, rubbing her head. ”Such a good girl!” She rolled over on her back, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. Brian laughed and gave her more words of praise, scratching the jagged white spot on her belly.

The two continued like this for a while. Brian found a spot on her side that made her hind leg kick and her body go stiff. At first he thought he might’ve done something wrong, so he stopped, but she looked up at him, and there was something in Lily’s face and body language that told him that she wanted him to keep petting her there, so he resumed. She hummed as she stretched out her body on his lap, her leg kicking furiously against her side, Brian smiling wide.

“Well look at you two.” Mark said, amused.

Brian froze. He hadn’t even noticed Mark enter the room. ”Um, I’m-I’m-I’m sorry, I-I...” Lily rolled back over on her belly and licked underneath his chin. He gave her a few strokes and it calmed him down a bit.

“No worries.” Mark said. “I didn’t train her to sit on people’s laps ‘cause I thought she was too big, but I think you’re big enough to handle her. I mean, look at her, she almost fits!” Lily looked up at Mark, mouth open, tongue hanging out. “As long as you’re happy with it, I got no problem with her laying on your lap.”

”Oh, okay, good.” Brian said, relieved. He gave her a scratch on the head and she tilted her head up to meet his hand, closing her eyes and humming.

“So is Lily your choice?”

”Absolutely.” Brain said, nodding his head, not taking his eyes off the dog.

“Good. Honestly, you two seem like a match made in heaven. I couldn’t be happier.” He walked up to them. “But you know, owning an emotional support dog is a two way street. She’ll take care of you, but you gotta take care of her.”

Brian nodded. His therapist had given him a whole spiel about the responsibility of being a pet owner. In fact, he said the responsibility would probably be good for him. Having someone to take care of, having a purpose, could do wonders for his mental health.

Mark mirrored his therapist’s sentiments practically word for word. Brian carefully took it all in, but he didn’t take his eyes off Lily, he didn’t stop petting her, and a smile never left his face.

“So, you ready to take her home?”

”Yes!” Brian said, a little too excitedly for his liking, though Lily’s presence kept him calm.

“Alright then, follow me.”

Brian moved to get up and Lily immediately got off his lap. ”Good girl.” He praised, giving her a pat on the back as he stood. There was a wet spot on his leg where Lily had rested her head, but he didn’t mind. He started walking toward the door. ”Lily, come!” Lily immediately got in step with him as he followed Mark out into the hallway. He led them past the front desk.

“Oh is Lily getting adopted?” Asked one of the other women behind the counter.

“Sure is!” Mark grinned.

“Oh, finally! Good for her!”

He led them into a side room. Inside was a wooden table and some chairs, stacks of paper atop the table. Lining the walls were various leashes, collars, and red vests of all shapes and sizes with the words ‘EMOTIONAL SUPPORT’ displayed in big white letters, all hanging from little hooks. At the back of the room was a mysterious little machine. “So you’re Brian...Harris, right?” Mark said as he sat down.

”He knows your name.”

”Um, yeah.” Brian said, sitting down at the chair across from Mark. Lily took a seat by Brian.

“Your therapist, Jon…” he pulled out a piece of paper and scanned it momentarily, “Farish. He said you’d be coming. He filled out most of the paperwork ahead of time.”

”Oh, good.” Brian said.

“I just need to go over some things with you real quick, and you two can be on your way.” Mark went into exhaustive and carefully rehearsed detail about the legality of owning an emotional support dog, where he could legally take her, what establishments would have to accept her and what establishments could refuse her entrance, when she needed to be wearing the vest and when not, and on and on and on and on. Brian did his best to listen, but he found the amount of information overwhelming. He stroked Lily’s head to calm himself down. She laid her ears back as he pet her. Mark had Brian fill out some paperwork as he talked; just a few pages detailing his address, contact info, identity, etc. Finally, Mark took the papers in his hand and shook them into a neat stack. “Alright, that’s the jist. If you have any questions feel free to ask your therapist or just call here, we’ll do our best to answer them.”

”Okay.”

He put the papers back on the table and got up, walking over to the red vests, picking up the largest one by far. “This is her’s. Had to get it specially made.” He walked over to Lily and knelt down. “Okay, so this is how you put it on.” He showed him step by step how to take the vest on and off, then had Brian do the same. He fumbled a bit, but Mark guided him, and after a few tries, Brian easily got the vest on and off of Lily, she stayed perfectly still during the entire endeavor, save for the shake of her head, sending slobber flying everywhere. “See, easy!” Mark said as Brian successfully took the vest on and off of Lily. “Now you get to choose a collar. We have a bit of a limited selection for a dog her size, but…” he walked over to the wall lined with collars, gesturing to the last four, the largest of the bunch, “I’m sure you’ll find one you like.”

Brian walked over to the selection, pursing his lips slightly as he looked them over. There was a plain red one, a plain blue one, a light green one decorate with little white squiggles, and...

”Ooh! That one, that one!”

A slightly faded out collar with a navy blue background decorated by a row of pink hearts. He picked it up.

“You like that one?”

”I think it suits her.” Brian said.

“I think so too. You know how to put it on?”

”Uh…”

“Come here, I’ll show you.”

He brought Brain over to Lily and showed him how to put on the collar. It was like a belt, he explained. Brain copied him pretty easily, hooking the collar around her thick neck, setting it on the last loop.

Mark stood back. “Looks cute on her.”

”Yeah, it does.” Brian agreed.

“Alright, one last thing, then we can send her home with you. We need to make a tag.” He walked over to the machine, putting his arm on top of it. “That’s what this baby is for. Come here.” Brian walked over to him. Mark showed him the screen. “All you gotta do is put in the dog’s name, your phone number, and your address. Look, you even get to choose the design!” He showed Brian how to scroll through the various designs he could select for the tag.

Brian stepped up to the screen. It didn’t take him long to choose a design. A black tag with a red heart, the text displayed in a curly white font.

”It certainly matches the collar."

Brian input Lily’s name, his phone number, and his address. ”Um, now what do I do?”

“You just push that finish button right there.” Mark pointed to the corner of the screen. Brian pressed the button. The machine rumbled for a bit, then the tag he’d seen displayed on the screen popped out of a little slot below. Brain picked it up, it was smooth, solid, laminated. “Like magic, innit? Here, I’ll put it on.” Brian placed the tag in Mark’s outstretched hand. Mark knelt down in front of Lily, placing the tag on the collar. “Alright, now you just put that vest back on her, attach the leash, and you’re good to go.”

Brian put the vest back on, petting her head as he did. Mark handed him a leash. “They’re all the same, so no choice there.” It was thick, black, and leather. It felt good to hold. “You know how to hook it on?”

”Yeah, I think I got it.”

“You just hook it on to the vest there, oop, you got it!” He said as Brian successfully attached the leash to the vest. Brian stood up, holding the leash in his hand. “You feel good?” Mark asked.

”Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Brian said, smiling down at Lily. She looked up at him, giving him her own puppy dog smile.

“Then you’re ready to go! Here, I’ll lead you out.”

”Lily, come!”

Mark walked Brian and Lily to the door, but before they left, he crouched down by Lily, petting her ears. “You be a good girl, you hear? You give him lots of love.” Lily licked him on the nose. Mark smiled and stood back up. “You treat her good, Brian!”

Brian smiled and nodded. ”Thank you.” He awkwardly added at the last second as he exited the building. He took a deep breath and looked down at Lily. ”You ready?”

She licked her lips.

He started walking back toward his apartment. Immediately, he felt embarrassed. Lily was basically advertising that he was mentally unstable. Lily seemed to sense his discomfort, however, and walked closer to Brian so that she brushed up against him. Brian smiled and scratched her head. Maybe he could take the advertisement, the extra attention. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Finally, they reached his apartment and stepped inside. Technically, dogs weren’t allowed in his apartment building, but his therapist had informed his landlord of Brian’s intent to get an emotional support dog, and he was told that, by law, residences needed to accept emotional support animals no matter what. No matter how big they were or how much they slobbered.

Inside his tiny, tiny apartment, Brian had an assortment of canine essentials: a water and food bowl, several dog toys, and a dog bed, all paid for by the MNRU. Brian removed the vest from Lily’s back. ”Free!” He said. It was one of the commands Mark had taught him. Lily left his side and began exploring the apartment. Brian wasn’t sure where to put the leash and vest, so he just placed them gently in the corner. He sat down on his shitty little couch as he watched Lily explore with joy and amusement. He had a dog now! He never thought he’d be able to own an animal in his life, but he had a dog! A freaking dog!

Lily walked over to the dog bed, circled around on it, and tried to lay down. She was two sizes too big.

“We’re gonna need to get you a bigger dog bed." Brian said, amused.

Lily got up and walked over to the couch, standing in front of the empty spot next to him, wagging her tail, looking up at him expectantly.

”You can come up!” He told her, patting the spot next to him. She jumped up on the couch. Brian smiled and scratched her neck. She gave her low, throaty hum, leaning into his hand. After a moment, she laid down, placing her head on Brian’s leg. Brian smiled wide and wrapped his arms around Lily, placing his head on top of her’s. ”I love you, Lily.”

She gave him a kiss.