Puppy Love - Harry Styles

Chapter 1: April 8th, 2019

In 1990, my grandma, Ava Maxwell, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the soap opera she starred in, and produced, Sands Through the Hourglass with champagne, caviar, and a 3rd husband. In 1991, she celebrated the birth of her favorite (and only) granddaughter, me. At every birthday, she would tell the same story, of how holding me for the first time reminded her of what was important. She no longer wanted to make money from television, she instead wanted to rescue animals, something she had always been fond of as a little girl.

She sold her father's production company, using the money to invest in a property where she could house 20 dogs and 30 cats. (She eventually expanded to add a few spaces for a horse or 2.) She called it Queen of Hearts, and after all these years, it is still located in the heart of Beverly Hills. She used her connections in Hollywood to promote the rescue, encouraging her famous friends to "Adopt, and not shop". With investors, and grants, she has been able to keep the rescue going for the past 28 years. This year, she handed the reins to me, wanting more freedom in her old age. She still came by at least once a week for a full day of dog walks, but she stayed out of the administrative, and management tasks, leaving that to me and my full time staff.

Now that my grandma allowed me to oversee the day to day tasks of the rescue, I was allowed to create a sleepover program for our residents that were desperate for a home of their own. This helped people to test a dogs temperament for us, so we were able to learn how they reacted in a home environment. Over the last year, I had successfully signed up 150 volunteers, any of whom would be willing to take a dog for the night at short notice if I asked nicely. The next big project that I wanted to tackle was an open concept cat room where the cats were able to openly roam the shelter floor. Being able to interact with the potential human adopters would allow the cats a chance to show their personality. It would also help us in creating more social cats, not fearful of fingers poking through the cages that they currently resided in. Today, at 2p, I had a potential investor coming to the shelter. I was hoping she'd be willing to front the entire cost.

Arriving at the rescue is shocking on some days, with animals, or people waiting outside waiting to relinquish their pets. Today, I am relieved to see that this is not the case, and I make my way inside. My grandma truly believing in her interior design skills utilized the talent recently in our shelter redesign. She had worked with a local artist to turn old photos of adopted dogs into large murals as statement pieces in each room. Entering the rescue each day, I felt a sense of calm, as if I were at home.

On Monday, it is always a treat to walk in and see each of the dog kennels empty. This sight causes me to get emotional. Before I had started the overnight program, there were so many dogs left over the weekend, and so few volunteers to check on them. Before making the decision to begin the overnight program, I had researched endlessly what other rescues were doing to counteract this program, and was delighted to find the suggestion of a sleepover for the weekend. Our area worked well for this, because so many residents in the area were interested in having a companion, but their lifestyle didn't allow one for long. With the help of my grandma, I was able to get over 350 volunteers signed up that were willing to take a dog overnight, some at the drop of the hat, others required more notice, but I was appreciative nonetheless.

I begin working on the left-over laundry, placing it in the washer so they will be clean for later. I walk to the cat room, and begin changing their food and water. Since cats are animals, ok in solitude, we leave them the one night, and typically have 1 person check on them. I checked the sign up sheet to ensure this happened. Relying on volunteers who didn't receive pay was sometimes difficult. Recently, we had a good bout of people who were dedicated to doing the right things. I felt as though we had found people that really cared for animals.

"Happy Monday, Ryan!" I looked up, happy to see one of my staff members, Ruby had arrived for work today, "All the dogs are out, how wonderful!" She was super positive, and a true poster child for what a volunteer can accomplish if they are dedicated to their role at the rescue. Ruby was 1 of 10 paid staff members at Queen of Hearts. I was factored into those 10, as well, "Anything left that needs to be done this morning?"

"Can you check if the dog pens are clean?" I asked, "Make sure you keep an eye on the desk until Neely gets here. People will be returning their weekend sleepover guests. I'm going to be in the office. I've got some work to complete before my meeting today."

Queen of Hearts relied very heavily on donations from the wealthy people in the area. My grandma had started a grant program, which did provide some financial support, but she had recently gotten me involved in helping financially through meetings with investors. It also helped that we had paired some amazing dogs up with some amazing influencers, who loved to share our Amazon Wish List on Social Media. Sometimes I was thankful to be in Beverly Hills, other times I hated the location. This afternoon, I would be meeting with Crystal Sacca, wife of famous investor Chris Sacca. She was looking for a project to fund for her latest round of publicity, and I was hoping she would choose mine. I was reviewing her biography, when Ruby interrupted me, almost hysterical.

"Ryan, you know Harry Styles?" she asked as I furrowed my eyebrows, noting my confusion, she continued, "As in Dunkirk?" she raised her eyebrows at me, crossing her arms. When I did not react, she continued, "The song Sign of the Times?" this time she popped her hip at me, still I did not react, unsure of who she was referring to, "One Direction?" she questioned placing a smile on her face shocked that I had no idea who she was referring to, "Come on Ryan, I know you've been living under a rock, but not this bad."

"Also not phased by famous people," I reminded her, a trait I had picked up from growing up around my grandma's friends.

"You're impossible, Ryan!" she laughed, "You've got Harry Styles up front asking for you. Said you're a friend of his," She sits in a chair against the wall in your office, "And you're just calm, acting like you don't know who he is.'Scuse me while my knees go weak," she fell into the chair against the wall in my office. Rolling my eyes, and reaffirming that I truly didn't know who he was, I removed myself from my chair, and went to greet this Harry Styles.

As I approach the counter, viewing a man in a grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head, I work to place him. Quickly realizing that my friend, as Ruby had claimed, is actually a man from the dog park a few weekends ago, "Honey, the golden retriever!" I say out loud, snapping my fingers at him. Realizing that I remembered the dog's name, but not his, I quickly apologize, "As an animal person, I sometimes remember their pets instead of them."
"Like I said, she wasn't mine," he snapped. His eyes, a nice shade of green, looked tired, and worried, "I called several times, before just stopping up, but it seems you lot have got the shittiest phone service." He spoke quickly, and did not wait for me to respond instead adding, "I took your advice and got, well, I-I found a dog. We've been up all night because she's pacing back, and fourth, breathing all heavy," he imitates the breathing which I giggle at, earning a glare from him, "now she won't leave my guest bathroom."

Was it a small world or what? This man, and I had run into each other weeks ago, and now here he was, "You decided to bring a stray dog home?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, smiling back at him. I couldn't hide the fact that I was amused. He hadn't seemed like the type considering the mention of foster had him running away from me.

He rolled his eyes,"This dog followed me home one day," when he saw my skeptical look, he followed it with, "Not in the traditional sense, she just wouldn't get out of the car." I laughed at the thought in my head of this dog, bossing this grown man around. If she could talk,, "I've come, and I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me now."

"You mean this dog chose you? Lucky boy!" I chuckled again, clapping my hands together. It was clear that he was not amused by how funny I found his stress. Taking note of this I said, "It must really be your lucky day, because not only do I work at this rescue, I'm a vet too."