The Little Puppy That Came Home

After I graduated high school my parents finally decided that it was time to expand our ever-growing family. On December 8th, 2019 we welcomed in our new puppy, Scooby-Doo. Scooby was the perfect mix between a bulldog and a miniature pinscher. He was a ball of energy who had trouble staying in one place for longer than a few seconds, after all, he was only a few weeks old. This isn't a sad story about the dog who never came back. in fact, this story has a happy ending. This is a story about a smart little puppy named Scooby-Doo.

Shortly after bringing my new puppy into my home something terrible happened. As I was walking out the front door my puppy, Scooby-Doo, darted out. Thinking it was a game, he ran as fast and as far as he could. After chasing him for 15 minutes Scooby had run out of sight, My heart shattered. A million thoughts raced through my head. Will I ever see him again? Is he going to come home again? Will he be alright? Before I knew it I was on my knees with tears in my eyes. Scooby was gone and there was nothing I could do to get him back. My parents took me into the car and drove me around to look for him. We drove around my entire town for an hour, calling his name, searching through fields, and shaking his treat jar. No luck. We finally gave up and began making our way back home. I started to look for pictures of Scooby to make a "Missing Dog" poster to hang around my town. My mom was searching for different lost pet websites while my dad stayed silent. Once in a while, I noticed him looking back at me to see if I was okay. My father was never one to like animals. We've had numerous cats throughout my life, but he's never shown complete interest in any of them. Scooby was no different. Even though he might have not liked Scooby he knew how much he meant to me and because of that my dad was willing to spend an hour of his night driving me around to search for my lost puppy, and for that I'm grateful. I was terrified for Scooby. He was only a few weeks old how could he know what the world was like? I was afraid that I might wake up the next morning and see my little puppy on the side of the road. Or that another, larger, animal would attack him. He was so defenseless. I couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard I tried. As we pulled into my development I had almost completely given up hope of finding him. Then suddenly I heard my mother exclaim "What's that on our porch?" I looked up and so none other than Scooby-Doo sitting very nicely at my front door. I immediately jumped out of the car and ran up to him. His tail began wagging a mile a minute, It was then I knew that he missed me just as much as I missed him, if not more. I held him tightly and cried.

I know this story might not be as heartwarming or as tear-jerking as some other stories you've read, and I never expected it to be. I just wanted to share a story about a good little boy who knew exactly how to find his way home, even when he may have been afraid. Scooby-Doo is now 2 years old and is one of the most mischievous, yet one of the smartest dogs I know. He knows how to communicate with us, show us some very neat tricks, and he also knows how to get anything he wants, even without us knowing. And yes he still knows how to find his way home from his "self-paced" walks. He now has a new big sister named Whiskey whose had a very similar runaway experience. But that is a story for another time.