Dog Days of August — Margaret Lake

All Jan wants to do is get her mother a puppy to help her get over her grief at the loss of her husband, Jan's father. But when she gets to the shelter to pick up the girl puppy she had her heart set on, Kevin, a freak with a Mohawk and earring, is getting ready to walk away with her dog.

Jan is still fuming when she gets to work the next morning, and it doesn't help that she's expected to train a new employee; the very same freak who stole her dog.