Today was finally the day that Mai and Cass could choose and pick up their puppies. Cassidy’s sister-in-law bred Shiba Inus, and was known as a reputable breeder. As shiba inus had a strong prey drive, Mai suspected that the breeder’s yard was remarkably jarvey-free by Slandermouth standards. She had quizzed the breeder via letter for the last few weeks. The puppies were raised within the home and had been socialized with Cass’ niblings.

What Mai didn’t want, was a shy puppy.

The breeder led them to the litter—they were wrestling with each other playfully. Mai thought they looked like fluffy little teddy bears.

“Aww, look at them, Cass!” Mai cooed, “They’re precious.” At the appearance of unfamiliar faces, a few of the puppies began to approach curiously, one of them tripped and fell in the process.

It had been some time since Cass had visited the home of one of his older brothers, so it was no surprise that upon his and Mai’s arrival, it took a few moments to pry nieces and nephews off of Cass. His brother wasn’t at home but it was still good to see some MacQueens. However, today Cass was on official business. Today he was bringing home a puppy.

He edged forward just a tad behind Mai, who was already fawning over the baby shiba inus. Several little faces peered up at them as the puppies trotted closer, a clumsier one stumbling over its own paws. Cass chuckled lightly, his face breaking into a small smile. “They’re so tiny,” he mused. One of the braver puppies was now close enough to begin sniffing around the feet of the newcomers, clearly wanting to ensure that they were not a threat.

Cass had not imagined that he would ever get a dog of his own – or at the very least, he thought he would be an old man by the time he got around to it. But lately he had been thinking that it might be nice to have a puppy around the new apartment. Flynn had Henry and the dreaded Mildred – Cass wanted a pet of his own (aside from the insects that he kept at all times).

Now it was just a matter of picking one out. How would he know which puppy would be the best for him? What if he took home one that hated him and ended up joining forces with the cat? Cass had never had to make this sort of life-changing decision before. He nervously looked to Mai who he knew had been through this before. Cass saw her as some sort of dog-owner veteran.

“How do I know which puppy I should choose?” he asked her a bit nervously, wishing that one of the little shibas would choose him so he didn’t have to pick a puppy.

Maiko crouched down and dangled her hand to allow a curious puppy to sniff her.  As she looked up at Cassidy, she could tell that he was nervous about the whole thing. Had he never picked out a dog before? Was this his first dog? Shiba Inus were... A stubborn breed. He would be fine-- after all, she was certain that his family probably educated him all about the breed, and if his sister in law bred them... Well, that meant he had been exposed to them enough to know how to interact.

"You want a puppy that isn't too afraid of people." Mai suggested, watching as a black and tan shiba made its' way to Cass and began to sniff at his feet.  It completely ignored her.

"He's cute!" She commented, "Let him sniff your hand. Try to pet him if he won't mind."

Maiko's suggestion made sense - after all, Cass wouldn't want to bring home a puppy who was afraid of him. If it was afraid of Cass, it certainly wouldn't be able to handle the odd things that often happened at the MacQueen-Hughes homestead. A dog like that would likely hide under the furniture and rarely come out.

Cass stared down at the little ball of fluff that had gone from sniffing to barking softly at his feet. Slowly, Cass crouched down which made the puppy jump back slightly, but it quickly padded closer when Cass held out his hand. After a few sniffs, the puppy seemed to decide that Cass was an upstanding sort of fellow and it came near enough for Cass to gently pet it.

"This one seems to like me alright," Cass told Maiko as he pet the little shiba inu, "and he doesn't appear to be afraid of people, so that's good, right?" Now that Cass and Maiko had been deemed alright by dog standards, some of the other puppies trotted toward them to check them out, as well. Cass meanwhile was quickly becoming attached to the first puppy that had approached him. He was already imagining everything they would do together: going on walks, playing fetch at the dog park, reading the newspaper. Well Cass would be reading the newspaper. The dog would just be there for moral support.

One of the others seemed to have taken a liking to Maiko, although Cass assumed that dogs could sense when a dog-lover was in their midst. Some of the others puppies seemed to be slowly gravitating toward her, too.

These were some friendly puppies! She was having a hard time choosing. Some seemed more aloof than others, but that was typical of the breed. Shiba inus were independent dogs.

"That one definitely likes you." Mai agreed, "You need to make sure you keep socializing him, though. With people, with other animals.." She was happy that she knew plenty of people who would be excited to see and play with a puppy. She could also bring the dog with her to work for the students to play with. Students were not allowed to have dogs at Hogwarts, but some of the staff could. She remembered when she was a student, Hagrid had a mastiff. She brought Maslow to campus on occasion and for some of the students, it brightened their day to play with a giant fluffy thing.

A red shiba sniffed her hand curiously. Maiko managed to give her a little scratch. She grabbed one of the little dog toys and offered it to the pup. The pup took it eagerly. "I think I like this one." She tried to take the toy back. The puppy hesitated before allowing her to take it. A good sign!

Mai picked the pup up and it let out a whine. "Look at her, Cass! She's so cute. She's going to be such a brat."

“Oh, he’ll definitely stay socialized,” Cass assured Maiko, “Flynn has a couple of pets who ought to keep this little guy busy.” He was honestly a bit concerned about introducing his new dog to the creatures that already resided at his and Flynn’s flat; Henry would likely get along with another dog but Mildred might terrorize the poor guy.

It seemed that Cass’s wish had been granted and his choice had been made for him. The little black and tan pup at his feet had certainly warmed up to him, so Cass carefully picked him up, worried the whole time about dropping him. After all, this was just a baby. The shiba wriggled slightly in an attempt to reclaim its freedom, but Cass held on tightly and looked over at the puppy that Maiko had picked out for herself.

“She is quite cute,” Cass agreed with a smile as he still struggled slightly with his puppy, “I think I’m going to bring this guy home. He seems pretty independent.” The little shiba finally seemed to settle against Cass’s chest, which Cass took as a good sign. He had never had his own pet before (except for the bugs he collected); even growing up, his older brothers kept pets often but Cass himself never had one of his own.

Now that puppies had been chosen, Cass thought of all the other things that he would need to do. Had done his best to puppy-proof his apartment? What would training a puppy be like? What if Mildred turned the puppy against Cass? Of course, Flynn would be there to help out and Cass could probably contact Maiko with questions, but Cass was still nervous.

Mai had a feeling that Cass would need help. She would give him advice whenever she could. Of course, Cassidy's sister bred shiba inus... So at least he also had family who probably had more knowledge than she did about this specific breed. Yes, she did her research, so she knew what to expect... However this was the first spitz breed she had ever owned other than the old akita she had before Maslow. The creature had been 12 years old when she adopted it, and lived for several years past that.

The coloring that this little pup had, reminded her of the old akita.

"I think I'll name her Crępe." The puppy didn't seem to protest. It was decided then.

After hearing Maiko’s name choice, Cass realized that he had another difficult decision presented before him. Whatever he dubbed this puppy would be its title for the rest of its life. He glanced over to Maiko’s chosen shiba, who the name Crępe fit well. “Crępe,” Cass tested the name out, “That’s perfect. She looks like a Crępe.”

Cass lifted his puppy up to eye level and stared it down; the pup was less eager to lock eyes with its soon-to-be owner and attempted once again to escape from Cass’s grasp. But Cass kept a hold of it and searched its puppy-dog eyes for some sort of answer as to what it wanted to be called. “I think…I’m going to call mine Fitz,” Cass decided after a moment, hoping that it would be a name that the shiba would grow into. Short for Fitzwilliam, of course, but Cass doubted that the dog would respond to such a long name. Plus at this tiny size, Fitz was much more fitting.

Cass looked between Maiko and his sister-in-law, eyebrows raised. “I think these are the ones, then?” he looked back to Maiko at the end of this sentence, just to ensure that she was absolutely sure. Personally, Cass couldn’t wait to get home and introduce the rest of his flat’s residents to their new family member.

She beamed at Cassidy's approval of her dog's name. Crępe suited the little red-tan pup.

"Fitz is a good name for him." Fitz was a good dog name, though Mai suspected that Fitz was short for something long and ridiculous, knowing Cass and his awkward ways.

The two paid for their pups and went on their way to pick out toys at the local pet store.

End