“You be a good boy for your new family.” My voice cracks brokenly and tears rush out, unstoppable in their flow. I tap his forehead, making him blink quickly in confusion. “You win it all for me, little man. Do you hear?” His pointy ears tip forward, and I stand on my tippy toes to whisper, “Run your little heart out. Leave the rest of ‘em in the dust.” Then I sit down on the floor of his stall and let the sobs I’ve been holding back all afternoon wrack my body.
