I absolutely loved that dog to pieces. Nothing had gotten into my heart like he had. But he had a bad habit of taking off on a smell and roaming all over town (we lived in a very small town). Evidently there were complaints and eventually Mom and Dad decided to give him to some people who lived over 100 miles away from us in another small town. To say I was heartbroken is an understatement. I don't know that I spoke to my parents for days, and was always bursting out in tears at the drop of a hat.
A couple of months later, this black dog was seen wandering around the area, and sure enough, ended up on our front porch. My dog was home!!!! Instead of being overjoyed, my parents called the people and they came and picked him up again.
A few weeks after that, my dog was back on the front porch barking to be let in. This time when my parents called the folks, they said "keep him"... he doesn't belong anywhere but with you. The local paper did a write up on his journey (I still have that article in my memory box!), and no one ever tried to make my dog go away again.
He was a huge part of my life until my late teens, when he was hit by a car and died. A part of my innocence died that day, too. I've got a coterie of cats I've rescued, and have dogs I've rescued, too. My current canine was adopted from the pound once a month for three months, until we adopted him. Three years later, he's still with us and yes, he DOES drive me crazy. He's even broken my leg once while out on a walk. But he's found his forever home. Still... I think back to those days running around with my little black dog, exploring everything... and then settling down to sleep at night with him at the end of my bed. And I still miss him. But never doubt a dog's love. If there's anyway possible, they WILL find a way back to their person!!!
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