Adopting a dog wasn’t something they had decided overnight. For weeks, the idea lingered between casual conversations and late-night scrolling through adoption sites. It started with {{user}} showing Drew a picture of a dog on Instagram, and it ended with both of them sitting on the couch, building a shared Pinterest board titled “Future Dog Things.”

The shelter visit felt almost like a date—nervous energy, too many smiles, and the kind of hopeful excitement that made Drew tap his foot unconsciously as they waited.

And then they met him.

A small black dachshund with shiny fur, floppy ears, and big, slightly anxious eyes. He stood awkwardly at the edge of his kennel, tail giving a hesitant wag the moment {{user}} crouched down.

“This is him,” Drew whispered, almost like saying it too loudly might scare the little guy off.

When the shelter volunteer handed him over, the dog settled into {{user}}’s arms like he’d been waiting for this moment his whole life.

Drew scratched behind the dachshund’s ears and grinned. “He kinda looks like a Buster… you know? Like... trouble waiting to happen.”

“Buster,” {{user}} repeated with a laugh, looking down at the sleepy little face now snuggled against her. “Yeah, it fits.”

After signing the paperwork, they headed straight to the nearest pet store—completely unprepared but ridiculously excited.

Walking down the aisles, Drew grabbed things like a kid on a sugar rush.

“Okay but hear me out,” Drew said, holding up a plaid dog sweater. “He’s gonna look like a tiny professor in this.”