From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Bob Carlson, and this is unfictional.

Unfictional is KCRW's program of peculiar and memorable stories and documentaries as part

of KCRW's independent producer project.

And today we're featuring three stories all performed by LA-based storytellers about the animals we led into our house.

The deep powerful and often strange relationship we have with our pets, beginning with this story by prolific writer and performer

Lauren Weedman.

You may have seen her at storytelling nights around town or been to one of her one-woman shows

or even seen her on the HBO series Hong.

But today on unfictional, she's got the story of her first pet as a grownup,

and the bonus lesson is, you should always listen to the lady at the pet adoption place.

This was a while ago during my first marriage,

and I was touring with a solo show

and we were driving down the street and I saw there was a pause adoption

thing going on. All the dogs were completely insane just barking barking and lurching at people passing by and it was a mad house of like out-of-control dogs.

Totally unadoptable looking most of them except for this one little dog that was like about six months old and he was sitting in the

middle of all the other dogs and he was so good like he was he truly looked like he was

sort of like I don't even know why I'm here being adopted like this makes no

sense like clearly I am because he was so calm and he looked sort of like there's been a

horrible mistake that I'm amongst these dogs and he was very cute because he was

like half border collie and half spring or spaniel and I decided I wanted him.

I had never had a pet before.

So I go up to the lady who's doing the adoptions and she immediately says to me, she was like,

...