Finally, a story that ends well

The boys discovered this dog on Daniel's porch yesterday afternoon. Predictably, they were thrilled, and spent the entire afternoon playing with him.

He followed Michael home. When I got back from work, it was dark and the dog was curled up in front of our door.

Michael was in tears and wanted to adopt him. He did not have a collar, but he seemed like a very nice dog. Still, I was sure that he lived in the neighbourhood. It would be wrong to take him. Besides, Michael is allergic to dogs. Besides, we don't have room for a dog. Besides, I don't want a dog.

A few hours later, he was still on our porch. I started to feel really guilty, but was still hopeful that he would make his way home. We tied a note around his body with pantyhose: "My name is Michael. I love your dog. Please call and let me know he is safe." Then we sent a photo and a note to the SPCA's Lost and Found e-mail list.

The dog greeted us this morning. He was hungry. I felt incredibly guilty as he licked his lips pointedly.

I did not want to feed him. I wanted him to find his owner. As I walked away from the house, I told the dog to go home.

About half a dozen people on the SPCA list recognised the dog. His frantic owner called in tears at 9:30. His name is Hunter. They are new to Name of Town Withheld and he is not used to being in town. He ran away two days ago and she hadn't seen him since.

I told her I thought he was still on my porch and she could come by and pick him up.

Of course, he wasn't here. He had done what I'd told him to do, except that he hadn't gone home, he'd wandered off in a random direction. She started to search the neighbourhood. I felt guiltiest of all for not tying him up or putting him inside. Or calling the pound or bylaw. Or waiting at home to see if anyone would respond to my message.

She came by my office at noon with a photo. She was distraught and hugged me several times. I, being an emotional person, cried.

When Steve got home from work, there was a message on our answering machine from someone who'd seen our note in the pantyhose. This person lives across town and hadn't hung onto the dog, but had seen him in the area.

I called the owner and told her where to look. She called back in tears and said that she had the dog on her lap.

It's good that SOME things can end well.