Inside the house, Betty placed the pup on the floor and looked up at her mother. “Scooby,” she said. She offered no other explanation. Vanessa did not ask for one. It was the first time in her life that she had shown such affection for a living being.
Scooby refused food until Betty sat nearby. When Vanessa tried feeding him alone, he turned his head away. Only when Betty settled beside him did he eat, slowly and carefully, as if checking that she remained there.