Lost dog

Today, Jesse asked if he could go outside to ride his bike. I told him to wait until it cooled down first. Just as soon as it was cooler, we went out the front door. I kept an eye on him as he rode his bike up and down the street. I noticed a stray cat walk past the house but was surprised by another visitor: A dog! A dog that was obviously without an owner. (There was no collar and license on the dog, either.) We tried to guess who the dog belonged to but we had not seen her before so we really had no idea. One of my neighbors came out to put out trash and she didn’t know who the dog belonged to, either. (The dog was going back and forth between our houses. I texted my neighbor later to ask her if she knew what breed of dog it was; her best guess was a terrier mix.)

At first, I didn’t want to talk to the dog or anything because I didn't want to encourage her to stick around since we had to go in soon. But she was sooo friendly. I petted her and talked to her a little. She LOVED Jesse, always running up to him and looking up at him as if expecting to play. She also kept going into our garage and sniffing around. She was so cute!

I felt bad someone had lost their dog. We waited and watched but there was no dog-walker coming to claim her. (Sometimes I have seen people “walking” their dog without a leash.) At one point, when the dog had ran off, I told Jesse it was time to come in because I had to make dinner. But he didn’t come in right away. So I kept telling him he had to come in and, wouldn’t you know it, the dog showed up again! I felt bad for the dog so I gave her some water. (She tried to get into my house but I would not let her; I don’t know if my dog would welcome a guest!) Well, the dog drank some water and ran off. I told Jesse to come in the house now and he got sad and said he wanted to pet the dog. I told him he should have done that when the dog was here. I noticed the dog across the street so I told him to go ahead and pet her. He went across the street to do that but then the dog ran off in the opposite direction – to someone running to her: A little boy dressed in pajamas. I was going to say something but had a feeling to keep quiet because I could tell something was happening. The little boy and dog got together and the boy petted the dog then hugged her.

I smiled, realizing the situation: This was his dog. I looked and noticed a woman about my age walking over to them and bending over to pick up the dog. She was obviously the mom. The dog seemed happy to see her family again. Jesse got to pet the dog then he ran back over to stand near me. He talked with them for a bit and I looked at the dog as the woman talked. The dog seemed comfortable and relaxed in the woman’s arm. Yep, this was her family. Jesse found out the dog’s name was Sniffy.

Soon they turned around to walk back home and Jesse and I did the same. I smiled at Jesse and said, “Maybe there was a reason why we had to stay outside longer.” The dog liked hanging out with us; if we had gone inside, she would have ran off again, and who knows if her family would have ever found her. I was just so glad and relieved they did. I would’ve worried about her all night and hoped she hadn’t got hit by a car when running around in the streets. But now I won’t have to worry about her. She’s home again, safe and sound.