Every time I see a lost animal I am reminded of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  I think of the first two who are too busy to stop and help.  I do not want to be that person.  Animals are family and I always try to catch runaways when I am able so they do not get hit by a car, wind up in the pound, or suffer some other tragic fate.  On this day I was driving home when this adorable little dog caught my eye.  I immediately stopped the car and she stopped running.  She had that wild look in her eyes that dogs get when they’re scared and lost.  I realize animal lovers tend to anthropomorphize pets especially but I believe she knew she could trust me.  She let me slowly approach her and gently pick her up.  By the time I’d put her in the back seat of my car next to my sleeping four year old she sort of passed out herself.  I brought her in the house (lifting her up from the sniffing wolfies so she wouldn’t freak out) and put her in our downstairs bathroom with a bowl of water which she proceeded to quaff.  Upon further inspection I noticed she had no collar and some hot spots which was disheartening.  I posted her pic on Facebook and other lost dog sites praying someone would message me.  I don’t know why I didn’t think to see if she was chipped.  A friend inquired if I’d checked and with a small ray of hope I asked my husband if he would take her to our vet to get scanned.  It turns out she had been missing for a month and had gone almost five miles.  I requested that her owner please contact me so I could try to help fill in some blanks.  She got to stay at our vet’s until her dad got off work.  Ironically, he had a job right across the street from their office!  Later that evening I got a call and, upon saying hello, this older gentlemen introduced himself as my “new best friend” — and then proceeded to cry.  He said her name is Puppy and kept thanking me profusely.  It was humbling.  The two of them are inseparable and she goes to work with him every day.  Each of them only has the other.  He thought I wanted him to call because he was offering a reward.  I told him I just got the greatest reward I could ever receive; they were reunited.  American actor Robert Wagner once said, “A dog will teach you unconditional love.  If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.”  Some days are great ones; this was one of them:  Puppy lost and found.