A Dog at the Door

It was raining hard on Saturday morning when Ben heard a noise outside. He opened the door and saw a small brown dog. It was wet and cold, and it was barking quietly.

The dog had no leash, but it had a red collar. Ben took it inside and dried its fur with an old towel. Then he gave it a warm blanket and filled a water bowl. The dog drank all the water and lay down on the blanket.

Ben didn't have any pet food, so he gave the dog some chicken. "Who do you belong to?" he asked.

There was a phone number on the collar. Ben called it. An old woman answered. "A small brown dog? That's Toby!" she said. "Oh, thank you! He ran away two days ago. I looked everywhere, and I called the vet clinic too."

An hour later, the woman came in a taxi. Toby jumped into her arms. "He needs a bath with shampoo now," she laughed. "And more training!"

Before she left, she said, "My legs are not very strong. Can you walk with Toby sometimes?"

Now Ben walks Toby every Saturday. A rainy morning gave him a new friend.