Not the pouch I was asking for!

It was a tranquil summer day. Dressed in his denim shorts, blue shirt and black baseball cap, Miguel causally strolled through the meadow without a care in the world. When he saw it, he didn’t believe his eyes. A red fanny pack was lying under a huge oak tree. He hadn’t seen one in years and this one was in perfect condition! Since no one else was around, he slowly bent down and picked it up. It not only looked new; it also smelled new, as if no one had ever worn it. Holding it made his hands tingle and gave him a strange desire to put it on. When he opened it to find nothing inside, the twenty-eight-year-old was convinced no one owned it. Seeing it as a harmless accessory, trying it on was not a difficult decision. The fit was loose but oddly comfortable, as though it belonged there.

He resumed walking, at first ignoring the itching on his face.

It wasn’t long before the itching grew worse enough that he had to scratch it. The soft, warm fuzz he felt when he scratched his chin made little sense. Since he shaved only that morning, he knew something was up. Unfortunately, without access to a razor, he had little choice but to ignore it.

Already, the pack was making his body something-other then human. In retrospect, had he made a connection and remove removed it then, he might have been fine. Miguel was not one to worry about things too much, often choosing complacency over worry about anything. Perhaps this was why he took only minimal notice of the itching on the upper part of his right arm. All he needed to do was to turn his head to investigate. Then, he would have seen the patch of red fur growing. Had he reacted then; perhaps he may have been able to shave the fur on his face and arms when necessary.

A warm itchy sensation engulfed his body, the sensation not unlike immersing oneself in a hot bath. That however, was far from the worst of it. He could ignore that by attributing it to the hot outside temperature. He however, could not ignore the fact red fur now covered his arms!

What … what’s happening to me? What is that?

He could only look at his arms in shock; not knowing it was fur. He thought his red hair was simply growing at a phenomenal rate, possible coinciding with his beards sudden growth.

It wasn’t much longer before he felt something that terrified him. There was a strange tingling at the base of his spine. That tingling quickly led to a pushing at the seat of his pants. He soon realised he could feel whatever it was pushing, as through it were trying to escape what for it were the unnatural confines of clothing.

The clothes couldn’t confine the tail for long and he soon heard a loud rip as it forced its way through the fabric. He could feel the shards of fabric falling of it and the hold it created rubbing up against it as it snaked its way though. It was a disturbing feeling, one a human should never have to experience.

He looked back with extreme trepidation only to confirm what he feared; he was sprouting a tail, a long red furred tail. It looked familiar, his mind quickly clueing in on what was happening to him.

Looking down at the pouch, he knew it was somehow responsible for this. He knew he had to get it off before this went any further.

As his shirt flew up from a gentle breeze. He saw the red fur that now covered it. He tried to ignore it, assuring himself he could shave it or in a worst case scenario, hide it under clothes. He quickly reached down to undo the pack, trying to ignore the fur as it brushed against his equally shaggy arms.

Quickly undoing the pack, he threw it to the ground, hoping this was the end of what it was doing to him.

He nervously felt around and under his shirt. Red fur covered his entire torso. Touching his face confirmed it too was furry. He felt around his backside, feeling the half tail he had.

What do I do with this thing? Maybe someone can surgically remove it or something. Maybe they can get rid of the fur the same way. I’m not looking forward to that call to the Doctor.

Unfortunately, his partial relief ended when he saw the pack fly back up towards him as though it had a mind of its own. It quickly buckled itself back onto his waist.

"What the fuck is this?" he swore, shocked and terrified the pack had done this.

He could feel the changes resuming and desperately tried to remove the pack again. Unfortunately, this time, the lock was tight, as though it had welded itself shut.

Shit! Get the fuck off me you freak!

Soon, changes impossible to hide with clothing manifested themselves.

His ears were tingling and when he reached up to feel them, he felt them quickly elongating.

Feeling his nose, he felt the nostril texture changing as an ache and warmth began forming in his jaw.

A life as an animal was not the life he wanted! Only two days ago, he received an offer to start his dream job in a few weeks, signing and mailing it off on this walk. Upset over that opportunity fading paled in comparison to the loss of his humanity!

An onlooker watching would have seen the pained look in his face; despair over his humanity slipping away with no way for him to stop it.

He wanted, no needed to run to get help. Someone somewhere could help him; it seemed his only hope. He started running as fast as he could in the direction of his car. Unfortunately, a sudden pain in his gut as the changes mercilessly proceeded, forced him onto his hands and knees. Tears streamed down his face as he lost all emotional control. His hat fell off, unable to stay on with the changes to his skull.

He felt a terrible sinking feeling; he was getting smaller! He may have needed to lose some weight but this was not the way he wanted to achieve that! His red human hair was changing in texture and form, becoming red fur. The expansion of his ears was now a stinging pain. It felt as though someone were pulling on his ears, stretching skin and cartilage until they fractured. However, instead of breaking, the skin was lengthening as his ears felt progressively less human!

No, please no! Please stop, I don’t want this! Why is this happening, what did I do to deserve this?

His jaw and nose bones were now changing at a fantastic pace. He felt the bones cracking, feel them moving, although they remained solid, their shifting was unhindered by any physical laws. Miguel of course didn’t need something like this to know magic was the only explanation for what was happening to him. The bones shifted mercilessly, as they grew into a long snout. He felt a tingling in his vocal chords as they changed. His voice, a means of telling anyone of his fate was fading!

His thighs stung and terrible warmth overcame them as they expanded while the muscles in his legs ached as though he’d been working out for days. He could feel the bones shifting. Oddly enough they didn’t seem to be getting longer, more they were growing longer relative to his size! He knew it; he was getting smaller, a lot smaller! His already massive and still growing tail has already torn his shorts. The expansion of his hips only furthered their destruction, turning an article of clothing into torn rags.

An ache in his feet signalled their inevitable expansion. Toes merged, giving him three toed appendages. His left shoe flew off as his loosening sock tore, leaving only the upper half of it dangling to a leg no longer human. When the terrible pain inflicting his entire body finally subsided, he cautiously arose. Almost instantly, his badly torn and now far too large shorts and underwear quickly fell off, followed by the fanny pack. His shirt was now far too big for him, as though he was a child wearing a shirt meant for a tall adult. His partial nudity and decreased size were not the source of his upset. The fact he was now an animal somehow took priority. The horror too much for him, he could only look up at the sky with his eyes closed in shock and horror.

After a few minutes, he knew he had to face reality and lowered his head to look down at his now unfamiliar body. Knowing he was an animal made him feel sick. The human clothes still clinging to him mocked him, a cruel reminder of what he had lost and could never have again. Other then the clothes, he was indistinguishable for a normal kangaroo. Panic flowed through him and soon the only thought on his mind was to flee. Of course, he could never escape what had happened to him but in his fear-gripped mind, running away was the only logical option.

He quickly discovered he’d need to rely on hopping to get around when an attempt at running resulted in him ending up flat on his face. He knew the shirt was partially to blame. It was far too big for him now and would get in the way of doing anything. A strange urge inside of him attempted to calm him, telling him clothing was a human thing and as a kangaroo, he didn’t need it. Although the thought of being what to him was completely naked was embarrassing, he knew he’d never be able to function with the shirt impeding him like this. He promptly removed it, throwing it to the ground beside his pants and underwear. He also removed his already too large and torn socks, discarding them on top of the shirt.

Ah, much better, finally free of such human silliness.

That thought scared him; only a kangaroo for a few minutes and already, he was thinking in a way that felt closer to kangaroo them human. For now, he wasn’t ready to think of that and instead wanted to attempt hopping again. Taking a deep breath, he hopped towards the grass, gracefully landing several meters away.

Hey, that felt good!

While hopping felt nice, he feared enjoying it, fearing losing himself to this form. Something else was appealing to him; the grass he now stood in was long and smelled very sweet. With his new senses taking hold, the grass suddenly smelled irresistible. He soon found himself leaning down and eating a mouthful of it. It tasted incredible and he found himself wanting more. He quickly acted on that urge and continued to eat it until he was full.

Having just behaved in a very animalistic way, he was rather shocked and angry with himself for losing control. Despite his appearance, he was himself on the inside. No matter what it took, he would find a way to live as a human!

Hopping a few leaps towards his house, he had to stop. The alien sensation of grass brushing his fur covered legs coupled with a cool wind blowing his exposed fur only furthered to dampen his human thoughts. It was quickly becoming hard to think of himself as a human within an animal’s body.

People were approaching and he dreaded what would happen if they saw him. With the exception of a zoo, a kangaroo wasn’t an animal you’d expect to find in southern Canada, let alone in North America. These people certainly wouldn’t ignore a grazing kangaroo! He thought of putting the shirt back on to show them he wasn’t a natural kangaroo but wondered if it would do any good. He wondered if he could still even speak, thinking if he could, he could use that to communicate his situation.

Testing out his voice, he tried to say his name. Unfortunately, all that came out of his snout was an odd grunting. Guess not. If I can’t talk, I can’t tell them what happened to me! Maybe if I acted it out some way? This body may feel neat but I don’t want to end up in a zoo!

Before the humans got too close, Miguel lay down in the grass, it was just tall enough to obscure him. Until he figured out what to do, he didn’t want to risk discovery.

He took in the appealing scent of the grass surrounding him, the effect on him similar to a human surrounded by a brilliantly prepared and free buffet. Miguel wasn’t a vegetarian before, but now even the scent of the grass excited him. Even as he lay there waiting for the humans to pass by, he happily munched on some of it.

The prospect of losing his humanity had him in tears only minutes ago. Now, it actually felt good being this way! He wanted to try out hopping a bit longer but knowing the humans might see and possibly capture him, he resisted the urge.

He heard someone closing in, a young girl from the sounds of her voice. When she said something about his torn shorts and underwear, panic started to grip him. Oh no, if they discover those, I’m in deep trouble. His wallet and keys were in the shorts, his identification a possible means to show a human he wasn’t a natural roo, the keys a way into his house. His instincts were screaming at him, telling him he couldn’t risk them taking the wallet or keys and had to act quickly.

Jumping up, he saw his tattered clothes only a few meters from the girl and noticed the fanny pack was gone. Without the pack, he had little way to show someone what had changed him! He hoped that it was simply under his clothes and desperately hopped over to them. Picking the clothes up, he searched for but failed to find any sign of the pack. He knew he was in trouble but had to act. He would have to find some other way to show people how he ended up like this.

The humans were yelling about him; it hurt him hearing them refer to him as a kangaroo. He knew he was technically a kangaroo but didn’t need to hear someone calling him that. While he was curious as to what they’d do should he stay, he didn’t want to risk capture.

Quickly reaching into the pockets of what was left of his shorts, he picked out his wallet and keys. The girl was getting closer to him. Despite her parent’s objections, she seemed intent on petting the kangaroo she saw before her. Miguel feared these humans might call someone to catch him, so he quickly hopped away. He didn’t care where he’d end up; he simply wanted out of there.

Hopping was one of the most stimulating things he had ever experienced and he quickly lost himself in it. Not wearing clothes made him feel exposed but at the same time, liberated. It was rather amusing that it was okay for him to hop around like that. If he were stuck like this, he guessed this would be one of the more amusing aspects of being an animal. When he approached a large marsh he knew to be at least twenty kilometres from where he had parked, he knew he’d made incredible time or was hopping for some time.

He was breathing quickly and panting in much the same way a dog does when it’s hot. He felt a strange desire to lick his forearms in order to cool down and acted on it. He didn’t know how or why, but it seemed to work, especially as a nice cool breeze blew through the meadow.

Slowly hopping over to the marsh, he leaned over to look at himself. Seeing a kangaroo looking back made him jump back in disgust and fear of the reality of his situation.

Looking further down his torso, he saw something strange towards his abdomen. There appeared to be a fold of skin there. He gasped as he reached down for it, realising what it most likely was. When he was able to reach inside of it and discovered it to be a pouch, he was beyond shocked. He was a she! Feeling further down and encountering nothing familiar confirmed it! Oh no, I knew I felt different ‘down there’ somehow!

He or more so, she sank down to the ground in horror. Becoming an animal was bad enough but having her gender changed as well was too much. Even if she were able to show her wallet and Identification to someone, she doubted they’d believe a female kangaroo!

While she wanted to chide herself for putting the fanny pack on in the first place, she knew doing so would undo neither her actions nor the results. She needed to act and now before any potential incoming mental effects made it impossible for her to even comprehend getting help.

Reaching down, she put her keys in the wallet so they wouldn’t dig into her before opening her pouch and dropping the wallet in. She figured if she was going to be female and have a pouch, she might was well make good use of it.

Hopping over to the lake, she leaned down and used her hands to drink several hands full of water, greatly enjoying the taste and feel of it. Looking around, she based the direction of her house on the direction she hopped. It was going to take some time to get back there but she didn’t care, she simply wanted to be in the comfort of her own house, even if it was as a female kangaroo.

She shook her head and began making the journey towards her house. Within minutes, she was quickly hopping, making incredible time. It felt as incredible as before, and she soon lost herself to it, completely losing track of time in enjoyment of being a kangaroo.

***

Miguel’s large kangaroo ears picking up cars and other suburban sounds let her know she was getting close to home. Hopping was so enjoyable carefree and mesmerising that she had lost track of time. The blaring of a car horn roused her from her euphoric state. She had reached the park close to her house and heard children in the playground to the west while others played soccer in the central fields. For a human, a stroll through the park would not gather attention. Hopping through it as a kangaroo was another matter.

Wondering how people petting her would feel, a sly grin crossed her face. Meeting and petting a kangaroo outside of a zoo would give these kids stories to tell for years to come, not to mention make her the centre of attention. As a human, Miguel was shy and had few friends. Now, she could be popular around humans! While the attention would likely mean capture, it would allow her the opportunity to use her wallet to identity herself. It seemed a better option then hiding in her house.

It seemed that a little boy made the decision for her when he excitedly announced to his friends that a kangaroo was standing in the park.

Miguel had two options, make a break for it or stand there and let the kids pet her. The first option was logical but she was getting tired. If anything, she just wanted to sleep.

The second option didn’t seem so bad; she wondered what people petting her would feel like and always wondered what it would be like to enter a room and have everyone stand up to welcome her. She liked kids just fine, so letting a bunch of them pet her was not offensive. She wasn’t too keen on them seeing her without any clothing but knew she’d have to get used to it if she were stuck like this.

She decided to stand her ground as the first boy approached from her left. She guessed that he half expected her to run away or hit him, as he looked a bit afraid. The old saying about the smell of fear was seemingly true. She could smell that he was a bit afraid of her; she was after all a lot taller then he and she could tell he knew kangaroos could fight. Turning her head to face the boy, the sight and smell of the human before her fascinated the kangaroo part of her mind. Knowing children tend to be open minded and hopeful the kid would believe her story, she tried to say something. Unfortunately, the primitive nature of her new vocal chords severely hindered her speech and the only sounds she made were a series of growls and clicks.

A few meters away, people were gathering to see how Miguel reacted to the boy.

Silly humans, I hop over here and they give me all this attention. Loving the attention she was getting, referring to humans in the third person didn't seem to bother her.

"Hello kangaroo, can I pet you?" the kid asked.

Miguel looked at him not only wanting to know how people petting her fur would feel but also wanting the attention. With a happy expression on her snout, she looked down at the boy’s face and petted his blonde hair before nodding happily. He looked a little shocked to say the least.

"I mean me petting you, not you petting me silly!" the kid giggled, apparently not at all bothered by the strange mannerisms of the kangaroo before him.

The kid walked up to her and gently stroked her back. Miguel couldn’t help but close her eyes in enjoyment of it. If she were a kitten, she’d be purring. Half a dozen others soon joined the kid in petting her. Two petted her legs, one her tail, one her belly, one her and the sixth her back.

Few human sensations compared to this; if losing her humanity felt this good then perhaps it was worth giving up. It wasn’t long before she lost herself in it. Closing her eyes, she went into an almost euphoric state, only thinking of the petting and nothing else.

When the kids stopped petting her and backed off. She opened her eyes, looking around in wonderment of the reason they stopped. When she heard and smelled someone new approaching and saw it to be two animal control officers, she felt panicked; this definitely wasn’t what she wanted! If they captured her, she'd end up in a zoo, or worse, taken to the Australian outback and released into the wild with no way of telling anyone whom she really was!

The instinct to flee was primitive and overpowering. Without thinking, she was hopping away from the kids and towards her home. Only wanting to avoid capture, she didn’t care what she would do once she got home.

Lucky, she was able to pull the direction of her house from the sea of instincts and confusion that was her mind. She hopped in a slightly different direction, getting onto a path leading away from her house, hoping to use the streets to double back in an attempt to confuse them. Somehow, she hoped that using tactics would show them she possessed intelligence beyond that of an animal.

The hopping no longer felt recreational; now it was a necessity. As a human, she’d was used to running or talking her way out a situation; now with her vocal abilities reduced to grunting, growling and clicking, it seemed fighting or fleeing was her only options. Should she end up in a zoo, wildlife sanctuary or the wild, she’d have to fight off males, something very offensive to the human part of her mind. She wasn’t sure what the kangaroo part of her mind thought of it and didn't really want to know. She was already having enough trouble with instincts; the thought of what hormones might to do her mind sent shivers down her spine. She pushed those thoughts aside; right now, she didn’t have to worry about that. For now, getting home and away from pursuers was a lot more important.

As she left the park and arrived on a street, the feeling of pavement against her feet was strange. Landings were much rougher and the kangaroo part of her mind did not like being here. Her nose was detecting human scents of many different types, all of which made her nervous. These scents didn’t really feel like a part of her anymore, a curious and perhaps frightening thing considering she was a human only that morning. She knew this meant what was left of her humanity was fading even further, possibly by the minute. It seemed that it wouldn’t be long before she started thinking of herself as a kangaroo, perhaps even as a natural kangaroo and not a human stuck in the body of one.

As she hopped through the neighbourhood, she heard the humans yelling about her; some were shocked while others were curious. She knew the humans probably thought her an escapee from the zoo and just wanted to help but was far too terrified to stop and attempt to get them to understand her plight. Her street wasn’t far and getting there meant getting home and away from them.

She was angry with herself, wondering why she was so stupid as to try on the fanny pack. Something in her mind should have warned her a perfectly good one suddenly appearing years after she had last seen people wearing them was too strange to be true. She never would have expected the fanny pack would turn her into a kangaroo, let alone a female kangaroo but still should have known better then to put the thing on. She so wished she could simply go back to being human. Sure she enjoyed the attention but it wasn’t worth losing her humanity to attain.

Only hours ago, her human life was finally picking up. She was even thinking of asking a girl she had known for three years on a date. Unfortunately, her humanity was lost and she was a female kangaroo. Somehow, she doubted showing up at her door like this would get a positive response. Perhaps if she still had the fanny pack they could be a kangaroo couple. That of course assumed it would change her gender as it had his own. However, it would also force this fate upon her.

When she arrived on her street, she ignored the humans and quickly hopped to her front door. Pulling her wallet out of her pouch, she removed the key and quickly unlocked the door before opening it and hopping inside, closing it behind her.

The human smells in the house bothered the kangaroo part of her mind. However, she knew this was her house and the human smells were something she’d adjust to. Even if she wasn’t human anymore, this was where she lived. Using stairs would be treacherous for a kangaroo and Miguel was thankful he lived in a bungalow.

Feeling much more secure, she breathed a sigh of relief and crawled over to her couch, the house feeling far too confined for her to hop. Sprawling out on it, her exhaustion finally got the better of her and she fell asleep.

***

She awoke the next day to the rudest of rude awakenings. A part of her hoped her experiences were a dream. When she opened her eyes to see the red furred body of a female kangaroo, she was so shocked that she nearly fell off the couch.

Her kangaroo stomach demanding food, she considered going about her daily routine. This situation however was anything but routine and behaving as though everything was fine wasn’t going to get her anywhere

She slowly crawled over to the full-length mirror in her bathroom and looked at her reflection. She had to admit she was a cute looking kangaroo. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the feeling she was looking at a stranger. Thinking of that reflection as her own still felt surreal. The fact she was still a kangaroo gave her the worrying feeling she always would be.

She wondered what she would do about clothes, wondering if she needed to bother with them. While a shirt would fit, her huge tail made wearing pants impossible. The human part of her mind still felt self-conscious about walking around unclothed. Humans would see her as a kangaroo but she just couldn’t feel comfortable nude. She decided to wear something, even if it meant putting up with the human smell on her clothes. Perhaps wearing something would help to convince people that she wasn’t really a kangaroo.

She opened her mouth in a desperate attempt to say her name. The speech hindering grunts and clicks that came out were no less insulting than yesterday. Perhaps a speech therapist could help her but she doubted any specialised in teaching a kangaroo to speak English.

As a human, she always bathed daily and wondered how often she’d need to shower. Without sweat glands, she doubted she’d need one too often. Smelling herself, she found she had a mild musky odour, not really the smell of uncleanness but a natural smell from her fur. Since acting like an animal would feel like she was giving up on her humanity, she decided to shower before getting dressed.

She made her way to the bathroom across from her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Crawling over to the shower, she turned the water on to a lukewarm temperature before turning the shower water on, getting in and pulling the curtain across.

The kangaroo part of her mind wondered what the heck she was doing standing in a shower; it found this unnecessary but the human part of her mind felt the opposite.

Once her fur was sufficiently soaked, she retrieved a bottle of shampoo, brought it up to her snout and smelled it. The fruity smell of it almost overwhelmed her. The kangaroo part of her mind definitely liked this, when one eats a diet of mostly grass and berries fruit is a scrumptious treat. Gently pouring it around her body, she lathered it in, enjoying the feel of it. She wondered how an observer would react to seeing a kangaroo bathing itself like a human.

Completely washing her fur took some time. She was thankful her shower facet was the kind you can move. Once her fur was clean, she turned off the water and returned the facet to its holder before slowly getting out of the shower.

Looking in the mirror, the sight of a soaking wet kangaroo amused her. The kangaroo part of her mind was uncomfortable with being wet and demanded she get dry as soon as possible. Grabbing a large white towel from the hangar, she slowly complied.

Drying took almost half an hour; her fur was messy and needed a good brushing. She was too hungry to take the time for that and decided to leave it until later. Opening the bathroom door, she slowly made her way over to her dresser, to get some clothes. Unfortunately, she quickly found out the clothes would be far too big. As well, the human smell on them bothered her. She decided to go without clothes.

In her kitchen, she opened her fridge door; an incredible array of smells greeting her. The only ones that appealed to her were the fruits and vegetables so she got out a few apples, oranges and sweet potatoes. She wasn’t sure she could eat them but the kangaroo part of her mind assured her it would be okay; in fact, it seemed quite happy to have access to such foods, considering them luxuries.

Quickly washing the fruit and peeling the potatoes and oranges, she didn’t bother to dry them before cramming them into her mouth. She had thought the grass tasted nice but it couldn’t hold a candle to fruit and vegetables. For a few minutes, the kangaroo part of her mind strengthened. She had enjoyed these foods as a human but as a kangaroo, they were like candy to her. Experiences like this made letting go of her humanity seem not only tolerate but desirable!

She quickly finished off the food and was satiated. She wondered what to do. It seemed she was about to get her answer when she heard her doorbell ring. Fear coursed though her. She could hear and smell humans at the door and recognised the smell; it was the same people that tried to capture her the previous day!

The kangaroo part of her wanted to run, but had no idea where she would go. While she didn’t want to live out her life constantly running from humans, she also didn’t want to end up in a zoo where a male kangaroo could do who knows what to her. However, with the clothes, she just might be able to convince them of who she really was. Maybe then she’d have a choice as to what she wanted to do.

Taking a deep breath, she crawled over to the door, stood up and opened it. This was the decisive moment; it seemed that the next few seconds were going to dictate her future.

"There she is!" one of the men yelled.

"Easy girl, we’re here to help, just stay calm," the other said.

Wait a minute guys, I’m not a kangaroo or more I’m not a natural kangaroo! Think about it, the owner isn't here and a kangaroo just opened the front door. The owner of the house is the kangaroo! She had no idea how these humans could possible mistake her for anything else. Opening the door and stepping out, she tried to convince them otherwise.

"Easy there, just calm down girl, we’ll get you to a nice," the first man said.

Shaking her head, Miguel flailed her arms, desperately hoping they’d clue in to her identity. She tried to say something but her lack of human vocal chords made speech impossible.

She didn’t see the other man walking up behind her, reaching into his uniform and pulling out a syringe and was still trying to convince the first one when she felt the sting of it in her right thigh. Seconds after the liquid coursed into her body, she started feeling faint.

No, this isn’t what I wanted! Unfortunately, it was too late, everything was already going fuzzy and she found herself falling onto the first man and passing out.

"I wonder what she was carrying on about?" he asked.

"I don’t know, seems smart for a kangaroo, I wonder where she came from?" the second asked.

"Probably a pet or something that got loose. I have no idea how she got into this guy’s house. Either way, she’ll be happy once we get her into her new home."