The build up of fragments on the armpit of the light gray sweater confirmed the expiration date. I tossed the sweater into a pile of miscellaneous items conjoined on the corner floor of my room. I searched my closet for another sweater to wear, possibly the purple striped one that I had been eying earlier. I spent all of two hours arranging, fixing and tuning my appearance instead of focusing on what was really important.

The wait was finally over. The anticipation, stress and overall joy was more than I could take. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this very moment, as surreal as it was, it was most definitely real. When I got to the hospital I was shaking with excitement. There she was; big blue eyes, small ears, a beautiful light color and the tiniest teeth. I picked her up with a wide smile and teary-eyed and gave her a kiss.

“What are you going to name her”, the man giving her away asked me.

“Zoey”, I replied with a voice of certainty.

Zoey wagged her tail and off we went to her new home.