The warm spring breeze whipped through the grass, gently tickling Crissa’s face as she lay in her yard, watching the sky. It was a beautiful day, a reprieve from the snows of winter but not yet the dreaded heat of summer. Suddenly, something got her attention, and the girl sat up.

There was a large dog, golden brown and fluffy, standing in the yard. It seemed to be smiling at the young girl. Crissa moved forward cautiously, her strawberry blonde hair cascading down her back with the wind.

“Hi…” she spoke quietly, putting a hand out to touch the animal. She turned to the front of the house for a moment. Nobody was looking outside, which meant nobody would call her in and stop her from befriending the animal. After a few minutes of petting the dog, Crissa had made her decision. This was her dog now. She couldn’t be convinced otherwise.

Sliding a small hand around the dog, she led her new friend into the house, shutting the door behind her. “Mom! Mom, come see this!” Crissa hopped slightly from foot to foot as her mother came into view.

“Where did you get this dog?” The woman demanded, looking at her daughter in clear frustration.

“Outside. He’s a good dog, see, he came with me and he doesn’t bite.”

Groaning in annoyance, Crissa’s mother just stared at the child and then at the animal she had brought in. “Crissa, you can’t just take in any animal you see. What if he belongs to somebody?”

Though she was sad that her mother wouldn’t let her keep the dog, Crissa agreed that if it had already been her dog, she would have been very sad to lose it. Because of this, she agreed to help her mother make posters to alert the owners. “But he can stay here until they call, right?”

~~

The pair worked together all afternoon, making posters with pictures of the wonderful dog. Before sunset, they were all over town, and Crissa had become certain that whoever owned the dog would be incredibly grateful for their hard work.

As is usually the way these things turn out, a call came in very soon. The dog was identified as Bear, and the owner was a nice lady who lived just down the street. To her own surprise, Crissa found herself incredibly happy to see Bear reunited with his owner, even if it meant she couldn’t keep him for herself.

~~

A few months later, it was Crissa’s tenth birthday. This was a day she had been waiting for since she was old enough to count. Double digits. This was her first real step to being a grownup. As she sat up, the girl noticed a fluffy golden puppy sitting in her room. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around, finally discovering a note on her bedside table.

Crissa,

Happy birthday my sweet girl. You’ve grown up so much this year. You’ve earned this. Name her whatever you want.

I love you,

Mom

Her eyes filling with tears, Crissa ran to the puppy and hugged it. This was the best birthday ever.