getting a dog was the best thing to ever happen to ellie. when dina first proposed the idea of getting her one, she didn’t think she wanted the responsibility of such a dependent animal. she could barely look after herself as it was, with her depression leaving her slugging through the days she had work and coming home just to rot in bed again. but the moment dina and jesse surprised her with the beautiful german shepherd puppy she’s come to love so much, ellie knew she was a goner. laika saved her life.

the first month or so with her was a little… much, as it was with any energetic puppy that was under the care of a depressed girl, but ellie pushed past her desires to stay in bed to look after her new best friend. laika’s energy was what got ellie up in the morning, what reminded her to eat when she saw the adorable ball of fluffy fur scoffing down the sausage she made her for breakfast, and what made her leave the house for a daily walk around the block. as much as she thought she wouldn’t want a dog, she was head over heels for this thing. she was always buying her toys, going from feeding her kibble to good quality meat for a better diet… laika was the most spoiled dog in all of jackson, it seemed, and ellie was happy to keep it that way.

after a good half a year together, and when ellie’s depression dried up and she found herself actually enjoying leaving the house again, she started taking laika to the local dog park. she wanted to socialise her with other dogs while she was still young, maybe lead her to making some of her own furry friends she could play with, and it went well with the couple of dogs she interacted with last week. it was this week, though, where ellie swore she watched laika fall in love with a handsome bernese mountain dog who was there the same day.

and it was this week where ellie swore she fell in love with that dog’s owner.

“yeah, i’ve— i’ve never seen her like this with another dog before. she’s been neutered and everything,” ellie flusteredly laughed, holding onto laika’s collar while she watched her affectionately rub against {{user}}’s dog, and {{user}}’s dog reciprocating the love himself. ellie wasn’t sure if it was embarrassing or cute that laika was so taken to him, or if it was just embarrassing because his owner was easily the most beautiful woman she’s seen in her entire life. {{user}} had the prettiest smile on her lips, too, holding her own dog’s collar while their pets went crazy with licking each other. they were all over each other. was it weird that ellie was imagining doing that with {{user}}? she quickly pushed those thoughts down. “he’s such a beautiful dog, though, of course! i love his coat. what’s his name?”