18. The Grocery Trip Part 2
The sign didn't lie. Sam agreed - these truly were some cute puppies.
Unfortunately, their price tag wasn't.
Sam realized that he would never be able to afford a cute puppy.
And with that cold, harsh realization, he began to make his way back towards the exit.
But stopped again when he heard an unmistakable sound.
Three more puppies, hidden away in the back of the store!
So ugly that nobody else would ever want them.
But to Sam, they were perfect.
He had just enough pennies saved up to pay for all three of them.
Bingo was going to be so happy!
Sam promptly ran home, with his trio of brand new ugly puppies in tow, excited to show his best friend the three new addition to their family.
But when he got home, he realized that Bingo wasn't actually that happy after all.
In fact, he was rather the opposite of happy. Angry, even.
Bingo had been expecting a gallon of milk, not three ugly puppies! Bingo didn't want puppies!
Under no uncertain terms, he demanded that Sam return these ugly puppies to the pet store at once!
But Sam couldn't do such a thing! Already, he loved the poor ugly puppies so much, that it would be like giving up his very own children!
If the puppies were brought back to the store, being so ugly as they were, they would almost certainly never find another home.
Bingo knows he could never live with that guilt.
But still, adopting three new pets on the spur of the moment is not responsible of Sam to have done.
Sam already has a pet - his goldfish!
He has only had Mr. Swimmy for a few months, but already the novelty has worn off, interests moved on, and the slack of his care has fallen upon nobody else but Bingo.
Bingo is Sam's friend. He doesn't want to hurt his feelings - but he knows that Sam has a very short attention span. Stuffed animals in the grocery store are very much one thing, but what is going to happen if Sam gets tired of caring for these three puppies? Bingo leads a busy life already and does not need more on his plate!
But Sam insists that he will be very responsible if Bingo gives him just one more chance! The puppies need him!
He promises to feed them.
And bathe them!
To always make them feel good about themselves.
And to tuck them into bed, with a story, every night - just to make sure they feel loved.
Oh please oh please oh please Bingo, won't you give Sam a chance?
Bingo relents.
Sam can keep the puppies.
But Bingo will not do all of the work. If Sam doesn't care for these three puppies properly, and every day, he will have to find them a new home.
At first, Sam found the puppies a joy to care for.
He called them Pixie, the sweet one.
Pokey, the playful one.
And Paul, the wild one.
Life couldn't be better! The puppies were happy, and so was Sam.
Sam played with the puppies every day.
And it was really fun!
Truly a joy!
But over time, Sam found that the puppies had a tendency to get into trouble.
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A close one!
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Sam tried his best to keep the puppies both happy and safe.
To keep them from running away, he worked on obedience training.
The puppies were model students!
Until Sam left them alone.
Still, Sam tried to make it work.
He did not want Bingo to think him a failure!
If the puppies caused trouble, he would just have to clean it up before Bingo saw!
He put the puppies in time out on the sofa.
And told them not to go anywhere until he returned.
He went to clean up their mess.
It was pretty bad.
But not so much that Sam couldn't tidy it up.
It looked pretty good! Bingo would never know a thing.
And the puppies had been so good and quiet throughout that Sam decided to give them all a big round of congratulation. Had Sam underestimated them after all?
Nope.
They were even worse than Sam had suspected.
A lot worse.
Sam realized he could no longer do this alone.
Sam really didn't want to ask Bingo for help.
But at this point it was pretty obvious that he needed some.
And of course Bingo had noticed.
"Are you having some problems here, Sam?"
But Sam insisted he was doing just fine. No problems here!
"Well what about that?"
Seeing Mr. Swimmy once more in the savage jaws of a wild and unruly puppy, however, Sam just could not keep it a secret anymore.
He was having problems.
Big, big problems.
And he needed help.
It was up to Bingo to save the day.
And with his fierce feline finesse, it didn't take long to safely take control of the situation.
But was it too late?
Had Sam sealed Mr. Swimmy's fate by failing to accept his limitations in time?
Bingo wanted Sam to learn to be responsible, but even he did not wish for it to come to this!
Not the loss of Mr. Swimmy!
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But it seemed so.
And with this tragedy, Sam realized that he was not responsible enough to be a good puppy caretaker.
Bingo was right.
The puppies would have to find a new home with someone more competent.
But who?