The Persistent Pup

Sometimes a hero’s reward is just knowing he did the right thing.

Rusty hated weekdays.

Every morning his owner, Tom, scratched him behind the ears, grabbed his lunchbox, and headed to work. Then came the silence. The house seemed enormous when Rusty had it all to himself.

That afternoon, Rusty wandered past the sliding glass door and nearly jumped out of his fur. A strange dog stared back at him.

He barked.

The other dog barked.

Rusty spun around, then realized it was only his reflection. Embarrassed, he trotted through the doggy door and stretched out beneath the apple tree in the backyard.

Just as he drifted to sleep, thunk!

An apple bounced off his head.

Rusty growled menacingly at the fallen fruit. Satisfied he had won the battle, he squeezed beneath the back gate and set off in search of adventure.

He followed a dirt road beside the woods when a distant scream shattered the afternoon.

Rusty bolted toward the sound.

In a clearing he found eight-year-old Mikey lying beside a twisted bicycle. The boy’s leg was badly injured. Tears streaked his dusty face.

“I can’t walk,” Mikey whispered.

Their eyes met.

Rusty knew exactly what he had to do.

He raced to the fire station, barking wildly and tugging at a firefighter’s pant leg. At first they laughed, but finally they followed him.

Rusty led them straight to Mikey.

The firefighters quickly called for medical help, and the boy was rescued.

As sunset painted the sky orange, Rusty hurried home, slipping back through the doggy door moments before Tom arrived.

“Lucky dog,” Tom chuckled. “Wish I could lie around doing nothing all day.”

That evening, the news reported that a mysterious dog had saved a boy injured in a bicycle accident far from town.

Tom watched the story with interest.

He never realized the hero was sleeping at his feet.