# 10 The New Puppy

My little brother Mario wanted a dog for his _______. He had been asking for one for a long time. My mom and I went down to the ____ store while he stayed at home with grandma.

• birthday, pet

• Birthday, pet

• Birthday, toy

• birthday, toy

When we got to the pet store, we saw snakes, birds, mice, and fish. The dogs were in the back. The store only had _______ poodles with curly hair, and they cost $300 each!

• fancy

• cheap

• Fancy

• Cheap

My mom said that we could not _______ to buy such an expensive dog. I told her that Mario wouldn't have liked a _____ anyway.

• afford, poodle

• stop, Husky

• buy, dog

• Afford, cat

On the way back home we stopped at the animal ______ to see if they had any dogs up for adoption _ There was a little brown one with black spots in a cage in the back corner.

• shelter, .

• Shelter, !

• shelter, ?

• Shelter, .

The other dogs in the shelter started ______ when I walked by their cages, but it was real quiet. I put my hand next to the bars of the cage and the puppy slowly walked over to smell my hand.

• barking

• dancing

• waddling

• Barking

I could tell he had been hurt because one of his legs didn't work that well. Even though he was _____, his eyes were ___.

• small, big

• small, small

• big, big

• Small, Big

He stuck his ______ through the bars to lick my hand. He wagged his _____. I knew we had found my brother’s birthday dog.

• tongue, tail

• tail, tongue

• head, tongue

• tongue, head

The staff at the shelter asked us a number of questions about where we were going to keep the puppy, and required us to sign __________ _______________ that we would take good care of the animal.

• paperwork, guaranteeing

• paperwork, arguing

• Paperwork, arguing

• Paperwork, Guaranteeing

We paid fees for the spaying and ___________ of the puppy, along with fees for the license and the tags. Altogether, the total was less than seventy-five dollars, which was way less than the pet store would charge. And now this animal would have a home.

• neutering

• dancing

• petting

• walking

When we got home, I took the puppy into the __________ and my mom went into the house to tell Mario that she had a ________ for him. I held the puppy gently as Mario came out.

• backyard, surprise

• cubby, balloon

• coffee, surprise

• trail, dessert