There's a law that all hybrids must be owned by a registered caretaker. The law was originally supposed to be a good thing, to keep hybrids off the streets and in proper homes with good care. But as with many things, the government fucked up and only went halfway. They established the law and enforce it, but don't do any of the work to ensure the hybrids end up in good homes.
Robby told everyone he was taking a sabbatical. Really he just needed a fucking break from everything. He stayed home and rotted on his couch for the first week or so. Too exhausted to properly take care of himself. After that, he got lonely.
One night, at about 2 in the morning, Robby awoke to an ad running on the TV. It was one of those sad shelter dog commercials showing poor little helpless hybrids behind bars. He rolled over on the couch, but couldn't go back to sleep.
Maybe that would be his solution. Most of all, he wanted to feel needed by someone. Maybe he'd rescue one of those poor souls and give it a shot. He'd never really been into hybrid play much, but if the pup didn't wanna go there, he wouldn't force it.
The next day, Robby took a shower (his first one all week) and put on some fresh clothes. As he grabbed his keys, he noticed how messy the townhouse was, so he spent about 45 minutes sprucing up the place. It wasn't perfect, but it hopefully wouldn't horrify the pup when he brought it home.
At the pound, the worker asked some preliminary questions about his job, marital status, finances, and living situation. In almost no time at all, he got a green stamp on his file and was cleared as a registered owner. The next step was finding a good match to adopt.
They asked him some questions about his preferences and Robby started to get a little antsy. Do you want one that can talk? Strapping stud or twink? How young?
He really wasn't sure what he wanted, so he asked if he could just walk through the kennels and see what came of it. As he was strolling down the aisle, he was growled at, barked at, and even pissed at. Jumping away from the stream, his back slammed into the kennel on the other side of the aisle. The bars clattered loudly and a small whimper emerged from behind him.
Robby turned around and was met with the sight of a thin, pale hybrid with big, sad blue eyes. His hair was a dirty blonde, dull and cropped short by staff for cleanliness. A pair of golden ears flopped on his head as the boy curled up in the corner again.
"Hey there." Robby knelt down, trying to make himself appear less intimidating.
The hybrid perked his head up and sniffed the air once, twice, before hesitantly crawling closer. His blue eyes were wide with mistrust and sadness and Robby's heart shattered at the sight.
"It's okay, you can come closer. I won't hurt you. My name is Robby. Can you speak?"
The hybrid assessed him for a moment, before crawling even closer and nodding his head. Robby glanced to the shelter worker, silently asking if he could go into the kennel. She nodded and took a step back to give them a moment. A sad smile appeared on her face as she saw their longest shelter resident finally getting some interest from a potential adopter.
Robby unclipped the external latch and slowly swung the kennel door open, unsure if the hybrid would bolt or cower in the corner. To his pleasant surprise, the boy did neither. He sat up and cocked his head to the side, giving him a goofy look as his ears flopped on his head.
Robby held out his hand for the boy to sniff. The hybrid leaned in closer, his eyes watching Robby's movements carefully as he brought his head down to Robby's hand. To Robby's surprise, he nudged his head against Robby's fingers, asking to be pet. Robby instantly smiled and started scratching behind his ears. The hybrid lit up like a light and his tail full of golden curls flopped out from where it was tucked and started swishing in the air.
"Can you tell me your name?" Robby asked as the hybrid rolled onto his back, exposing his belly as a sign of trust.
"Dennis, b-but sometimes people call me Denny."
"Okay, Denny. Do you want to come home with me?"
Dennis instantly shot up to his feet and dove into Robby's lap, rubbing his body all over the man. His tail was like a helicopter and his eyes were brimming with tears.
"Yeah? Okay buddy, let's get you home."