>You are Anon. 
>As you step inside the shelter, you can’t help but feel a little weird inside. 
>This was something you’d always wanted to do, but still…buying a pet? Though it was more common now it was still kind of strange. 
>You were somewhat relieved when you stepped inside. The woman at the front desk greeted you with a warm smile, which put you a little more at ease. It’s not like someone who thought you were weird for this would be working here anyways. 
>You signed a visitor form she handed you, and then told you to wait in the lobby for a bit. Someone would be with you shortly to take you to the back and make your selection. 
>While you waited, you made a mental list of things you wanted as you went through your phone. 
>You could deal with longer fur, so coat length wasn’t an issue. In terms of personality you wanted one more reserved and shy, as you didn’t think you could take care of one who had exuberant amounts of energy. 
>Dark straight hair was always a plus. 
>Trainability, too. She’d need to be somewhat self-sufficient as you worked long hours a few days a week. 

>”Mr. Mous?” One of the shelter’s workers called for you. He was an older gentleman with white, thinning hair, a closely trimmed beard and glasses. You could imagine he wore a straw hat outside, he looked like one of those older hippie types. 
>You got up from your chair and shook the man’s hand. 
>”A pleasure to meet you. I assume you’re interested in adopting one of our girls today?” 

“I’m thinking about it,” you answered. “Really is gonna depend on who all you have and if they like me.” 

>”Oh I’m sure they will. Come now,” he said, gesturing for you to follow him. 
>You followed as asked, first having to step in some little tray that’s a mix of ammonia and bleach to clean the soles of your shoes. You noted that this place was really uptight about sanitation, not that that was a bad thing. 
>As you pass through a metal door to the back you can pick up the scent of fur for sure. There are little kennels lining one wall of the back room, at least twenty from what you can count. Each has a metal grate like at a regular shelter, but the insides of the cages are better suited for the anthros here. Real bed, sinks with running water, the like. 
>This place had all sorts of them here too. Several different varieties of cats and dogs, a few more exotic wild ones like foxes, skunks, and you thought you saw a tiger down at the far end. 
>As you and the gentleman walk by, the girls look at you with curious, hopeful gazes. 
>They didn’t say anything, but you weren’t sure if that was because they couldn’t physically, were just never taught too, or were just trained to not until acquainted with visitors. 

>”Any of them catch your eye, Mr. Mous?” 

>You had to think about that before answering. As you continued to walk past some of the cages, you got the sense you wanted a canine of some sort. The domesticated ones looked at you happily, their fingers on the metal grates and tails wagging behind them. They looked really sweet, but a bit too energetic for your tastes. But as you walked down the row of cages you suddenly met the gaze of an gorgeous fennec fox. She was in the middle of brushing her tan coat out when her blue eyes met yours. Her big adorable ears pressed back against her dark hair immediately as her tail curled up around her and she looked away, though when you turned to look at your guide you caught her glancing at you out of the corner of her eye. 

“What’s with this one?” You ask. 

>”Ah, that’s Juniper. She’s a rescue, you’ll have to forgive her for being a little shy,” he answers. 

“Yikes. What happened to her?” 

>”Her previous owner was an abusive ass. One of his neighbors reported him and she ended up in our hands. We’ve gotten her used to seeing people, but if you’re interested in taking her it might take a while for her to adjust.” 

>As he explains, you put your hand on the metal wiring of the cage and look at her again. She avoids your gaze, hugging her own fluffy tail while occasionally glancing up at you, only to look away again. 

>”Would you like to see her?” 

“I think so, yeah.” 

>The older man smiled and took a ring of keys off one of his belt loops. After unlocking the door, he pointed to a little private room down the hall for you to step into. You did so, and could hear him coaxing the vixen out as the door shut behind you. 
>The meeting room was small, with a little plush couch and some toys in the room, as well as grooming supplies. You sat there, leaning forward with your hands on your lap, knee bouncing slightly in anticipation. 
>After a few minutes the door opened, and the gentleman lead the vixen into the room. With her standing you could see that, at best, she would come up to the middle of your chest. Knowing she was shorter than you thought at first made her seem even cuter to you. 
>As soon as she saw you her ears pressed flat again, and she hadn’t let go of her tail sense. The gentleman took the leash off of her collar and sat in a chair in the corner of the room, giving her control to do as she wanted. 
>You watched her, raising your eyebrows a little as she looked to the man, then back at you. 
>Shakily she took a step forward. 
>The gentleman motioned for you to put out your hand, and you did. 
>When she was close enough, she knelt on her knees in front of you in a submissive way, whining softly with a hint of uneasiness evident. 
>Her wet nose came to your palm, sniffing it a few times as she glanced up at you, then gave it a tiny little lick with her tongue. 
>That made you smile. 

“See? I’m not so bad,” you say, keeping your voice soft so as not to frighten the vixen. 

>After a moment or so she shuffled a little closer. You moved slowly, not wanting to scare her, and finally she let you run your fingers into her dark black hair. 
>She gave a little whine, but as your nails found a sweet spot behind her left ear she leaned into your hand. The black tip of her tail wagged back and forth just a little, the corners of her muzzle raising in a small smile as her eyes closed. 
>A minute or so passed before she finally relaxed, eventually leaning forward and nuzzling your stomach timidly while you pet her with both hands. 

>”Well I’ll be,” the gentleman said happily. “I’ve never seen her take to someone like that, Mr. Mous. Have you had a pet before?” 

“Had a feral dog when I was a kid, don’t know if that would help here since it was so long ago,” you answer, making sure to scratch that sweet spot of hers. 

>”She seems to like you enough,” he smiled. After a pause, he stood and asked, “Do you think you wanna take her?” 

>You thought for a moment, and at the question you felt the vixen tense up. It didn’t really take much thought though, she was everything you were looking for. 

“I think so, yeah,” you answer. The vixen relaxes once more, nuzzling you again. 

>Your guide smiled even wider. “I’ll get you the paperwork then.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>Despite how excited you were to leave with Juniper, getting through all the paperwork was about as pleasant as getting a thumb tack put in your urethra. 
>There was so much legal shit to fill out, and you had to consent to letting them come by in a month to make sure your living space was up to snuff, or they’d take her away. 
>You weren’t a slop and made decent money, so that wasn’t really a threat, and you understood why it was important for them to make sure she was in good hands. 
>After about twenty minutes you were finished, and your guide handed her leash off to you. 
>Her excitement was diminished by the looks all the others waiting kept glancing her way. Nothing creepy or anything, but it was clear she didn’t like being the center of attention. 
>You lead her to your car and got her in the passenger seat while the gentleman helped load some necessary items like extra collars, some clothes for when she was in public with you, and some books on caring for a pet like her into the backseat. 
>He shook your hand, telling you to take care of her and that he’ll see you in a month, then headed back into the building. 
>You got into the driver’s seat and start the car up. Juniper jumped a little at the noise of the engine, instinctively hugging her tail again. 
“Oh relax,” you shushed her as she whined, reaching over and brushing her cheek with your hand. “C’mon, lets get you home.” 

>The drive back Juniper kept watching the busy city going by your windows, shying away from the glances of other drivers and pedestrians. At one point a few older people cast some nasty glances at her when you stop at a stoplight. She whined softly, looking over at you with her ears pressed back. 

“Juniper, it’s okay,” you soothed. “Ignore them, they won’t do anything to you.” 

>The vixen whined again and looked down at her feet, but listened. You reached over, gently scratching under her jaw as the light turned green. 

“Good girl.” 

>The praise made her perk up just a little bit. Thankfully the rest of the ride was peaceful once you reached the suburbs. 
>You pulled up to your apartment complex, which was a little bit barren as it was the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. Most of your neighbors were at work. 
>You’d already paid the additional fee that would allow you to keep her here, so you weren’t worried about your landlord flipping his shit over her either. 
>You helped her out of the car, and the vixen obediently followed you when you lightly pulled on her leash for her to follow you. 
>You unlocked the door and let her inside. She looked a little uneasy as she looked at the various dark rooms of your house that stretched beyond the light filtering in your windows. 
>You took the leash off, gesturing to your house. 

“Go on sweetie, look around,” you encouraged. 

>Your soft voice seemed to reassure her that this new place was okay. She timidly stepped forwards, looking back at you before finally beginning to explore your home. 
>You took the opportunity to bring the stuff the gentleman had given you inside and set them on your bed. You’d figure out a place for them later. 
>As you folded some of the clothes the shelter had given you, you heard a yelp from the bathroom just as the shower came on. 
>When you went to check it out you saw her in the shower, pressed against the back wall as she tried to avoid the icy water. 
>She must have tired to make the faucet work, not expecting the shower to still be on. She was soaked in the cold water. 
>You turned the shower off and grabbed a towel from under the bathroom counter, then whistled for her to come to you. 
>She was hugging herself, shaking like a leaf with shivers and whimpering as you wrapped the towel around her and began to dry her fur as best you can. 

“Let’s not touch anything unless I show you what it is, okay?” 
>She nods, closing her eyes as you dry her hair. She’s still a little damp at the end of your efforts and is still shaking a bit from the cold. 
>Well, now was as good a time as ever to get some clothes on her. 
>You tell her to wait, then grab a shirt from the pile of clothes you just folded. It was simple, white with a green image of the Shelter’s logo on it. 
>She let you put it on her, and it seemed to warm her up enough.  She looked down though, not meeting your eyes as she whined. Her tail was drooping, wrapped around her legs. 
>She thought you were mad. That was cute.

>A gentle caress of her cheek was enough to reassure her you weren’t angry, and she resumed her exploring of your house. Thankfully she didn’t get into anything else, just sniffed the place out. 
>You took your laptop to the couch and sat there, beginning to work on an assignment for your online courses that was due by midnight while she explored. When she was finished she came up to you, sniffing the couch before curling up by your feet on the carpet. 
>You smiled a little and pat the couch beside you. 

“C’mon, you’re allowed up here you know.” 

>She looked a little surprised by your words. After a moment she does join you, if timidly. She curls up with her head resting right beside your thigh. She hugs her tail like it’s a blanket, her ears pressed back as she nuzzles into your leg. 
>When you start to pet her she gives off soft, happy whines. Each pass of your nails down her shoulder make her relax beside you. 
>Eventually her whines die down and you can tell she’s fallen asleep. 
>What a sweetheart. 
>Getting her was certainly the right choice. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>That night you got a little bed set up for her in the corner of your room. 
>The books that old man from the shelter had given you on foxes explained that, as social animals, pets like Juniper would naturally want to be near their caregiver. 
>However, it also stressed the importance of not allowing her too much time on your own bed, at least not until roles were clearly in place. The separation would reinforce that you were the one in charge here. 
>Not that you thought Juniper was gonna be the type to try something and start messing with you, but following the book at least for now was the best option. 
>She didn’t seem to object to it either. Once she’d sniffed it out she happily curled up in the large bundle of pillows and blankets, wrapped up in fabric and her own tail. 
>The little vixen was out like a light within minutes. 

>The following day you did your best not to wake her as you got ready for work. You weren’t sure if she could read or not, but you left a note on the door anyways in case she could. 
>Work was absolute AIDS by any measure. 
>But then again working at Bay Cargo© was always terrible. 
>It was nothing but unloading trucks and carrying giant heavy boxes up ladders that felt like they were made out of fuckin popsickle sticks. 
>To top it off you got yelled at by an angry old man who bought a swingset but couldn’t fit it in his car. 
>Like that was your fault. 

>All of that though made it much, much nicer to return home to Juniper. 
>You were starving and couldn’t wait to make dinner for once, instead of ordering some more generic bullshit. 
>You unlocked the door and stepped inside of your apartment, setting your bag by the door. 
>Down the hall you heard some shuffling in your room. 
>Heading to investigate, you find Juniper curled up on her bed, play wrestling with her own tail, the tip in her muzzle and she nommed on it. 
>For a moment she didn’t see you, but when she did notice you were in the doorway she paused in that position, tail still in her mouth. 
>Blankets were everywhere, but nothing torn. 
>Those big blue eyes looked up at you, and she slowly nommed on her tail one more time while not looking away, ears pressed back to her head. 
>You couldn’t help but laugh. 
>That shit was too cute, you had to record that next time. 

>Your laughs made  her get up, and she crawled up to you on all fours in a submissive manner, eventually sitting on her knees in front of you. 
>When you knelt, she shuffled closer, nuzzling into your chest after a moment of hesitation. 

“Did you miss me?” you asked as you ran your fingers through her thick black hair, then down her back. 

>She nodded into your chest a little, her hands lightly clinging to the sides of your shirt. 
>Behind her, her tail wagged just a little bit from the affection you were giving her. 
>Her stomach growled slightly, which made her tail stop wagging and caused the vixen to pull back shyly. 
>Grinning, you stood, helping her to her feet. 

“I’m hungry too. C’mon, I’ll make us some dinner.” 

>You led her to the kitchen, where you saw the remains of her own attempts to feed herself. 
> There was a bit of a mess in the sink, but you could see the dishes, if scattered, were washed. 
>She probably wasn’t aware you had a dishwasher, but it showed she was trying to keep things clean. 
>If she had turned out to be a slob you didn’t know what you’d have done. 
>You weren’t a clean freak but roaches here were bad, and you had to keep up on that kind of stuff. 

>You took some chicken breasts out of the freezer to defrost, and got to cooking once you put away her old dishes. 
>The whole time you cooked, you could see her tail wagging from the smell. 
>And once you started doing things that were a little more complicated, like mixing the chopped-up chicken into a bunch of veggies in the frying pan, she nestled her head between your arm and your side. It poked out adorably as you tried your best to cook, but eventually you had to shoo her off. 
>The stir-fry you ended up making was by no means a masterpiece, but it wasn’t the worst thing you’d ever made. Just bland, if anything. 
>She really seemed to like it though, even taking what you ended up not eating after giving you puppy eyes and begging for it. 
>Looks like you could cook better than whoever prepared food at the shelter. Not that it was exactly a high standard to beat. 

>After you’d gotten things cleaned up, you headed to relax on the couch and finally rest from your long day at work. Thank god tomorrow was a day off for you. 
>Juniper curled up beside you on the couch, this time resting her head in your lap as she hugged her tail to herself. 
>After a few minutes you felt her long black claws scratching at your forearm, and she looked up at you with those babydoll eyes again, whining softly as she tried to reach your hand that was draped over the back of the couch. 
>You could feel yourself getting all warm and fuzzy from the sweet gesture, and you gave her what she wants. 
>As you pet her, she relaxes and nuzzles into your stomach. Another moment or so passes before she grabs your hand again, this time pulling it down to her tail. 
>She quickly hugged onto it, the tip of her tail curling around your forearm for added security. 
>The warmth of your arm and her fully tummy was enough to get her to doze off soon enough. 

>You alternated between browsing imageboards on your phone and watching the TV for a few hours, but you were too exhausted to stay up late like usual. 
>It was around midnight when you decided to turn in. 
>Juniper was sound asleep, head still on your lap. Deciding not to wake her, you scooped the little vixen up and carried her to your room. The whole way she clung to you and whined softly in her sleep, like she didn’t want to leave your arms. 
>She let go once she felt her bed beneath her though, once more wrapping herself up in her tail. 
>You killed the lights, double checked the front door’s lock, then set your phone to charge and got into bed. 
>Within minutes you knocked out. 

>But you didn’t stay asleep for the whole night like your body begged you too. 
>Around 2am, you felt something grab your hand from the floor by the edge of your bed. 
>In your sleepy state you panicked when the sensation woke you. You at once pulled your hand back, giving a loud “What the fuck!?” 
>After taking a second to calm your heart, and realizing it likely wasn’t some intruder just laying beside your bed, you peered over the side. 
>Juniper was balled up on the floor, looking up at you with wide, fearful eyes that were red and brimming with tears. The fur on her cheeks was already matted from her soft crying. 
>She was hugging her tail tightly, and shaking like a leaf. 
>You frown, then get out of bed and get on your knees beside her. 

“Juniper…sweetie, what are-?” 

>You tried to ask what she was doing, but as you reached out to her she yelped and cowered away, burying her face in her tail for a second before peeking back out at you. 
>You sighed.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry I scared you. You kinda scared me too is all...I’m not gonna hurt you or anything…” 

>She kept looking at you for a moment before slowly unwinding. She was still hugging her tail, a few more tears running from her yes as she scrunched them shut and nuzzled her tail. 
>You scooted closer. 

“Hey…” you reached out, taking her muzzle and tilting it so she was looking at you. Her eyes looked scared, but not of you. “What’s the matter baby?” 

>She let go of her tail, for once reaching her arms up to you as she whimpered and gave a soft sniffle. 
>You scooped her up, and like earlier she latched onto you almost right away, burying her face into your neck. 
>For whatever reason, she broke down with frightened little sobs, her claws lightly digging into your shoulders. 
>It was heartbreaking to hear, even more so because you hadn’t the faintest idea why she was so upset. 
>All you could do was try and soothe her, sitting down on the edge of your bed with her in your lap. 
>Your pets and soft, comforting words helped slowly, and it took nearly fifteen minutes to calm the poor thing down. 
>Eventually she ran out of tears to cry, so she remained clinging to you. 
>Fuck the book. You weren’t going to make her sleep by herself for the rest of the night. 
>And by the way she was leeched onto you, she wouldn’t comply with that anyways. 
>Giving her a few reassuring strokes behind her ears, you pulled her off of your lap. 

“Shhh, relax. I’m not kicking you off the bed or anything,” you shushed her whimpers as you nudged her to the side. 

>Pulling the blankets down, you patted the spot beside where you laid. She looked a little surprised but wasted no time in snuggling right up to you. Her hands clung to your chest, tail wrapped around your waist and one leg pressed between yours as she got as close to you as she could manage. 
>You put your arms around her in kind, making sure to rub her back with gentle strokes. Eventually, the last of her shaking subsided. 
>What on earth all that was about you had no clue. 
>But as you felt her finally fall back asleep in your arms, you just hoped that was a one off thing. Maybe a nightmare or something. 
>Or maybe she just missed you more than she let on. 
>Something like that was probably it, yeah…
>Or at least, that’s what you assured yourself of as you too dozed back off.