ll shed a lot…just look at his thick fur. You know I’m allergic to dogs…and I don’t want to get bitten.

Look, I’m not welcoming this dog home, and that’s it. Take him outta here before I….”

“But babe, Ollie is harmless. Just look at him!” begged Chris as the dog softly whined behind him, its fluffy haunches planted firmly on the floor and its tail curled around the paws.

Ollie was afraid of Mila’s temper and felt uneasy as he looked at them, arguing in loud voices.

“He won’t bite you. Ollie is such a kind, friendly dog, and everybody in the market loves him. Look, I know you don’t like dogs coz you got bitten when you were little.

But that doesn’t mean all dogs are a threat or somethin’… just give him a chance and you’ll not regret it…trust me.”

“See this…if you ask him for his paw, he gives his paw…and if you tell him to roll, he does it… and Ollie up…see, he got up…he’s so obedient, and he’s not a stray,” Chris demonstrated a paw shake with Ollie and other tricks in an attempt to convince Mila to keep him.

“Yeah, whatever! And you know what? If everybody you know loves him, then they can take him home.

You’re just wasting your time with this dog. These things are only fit to eat and sleep all the time. Don’t expect me to clear his poo and pee, alright?

If you want this dog home, you’ll have to clean all the mess, and I don’t want to see any fur on my clothes. And one more thing…he’s not allowed in our bedroom. I don’t want this dog anywhere near me…I’m warning you, Chris.

If he messes up, then he’s outta here.”

Chris was partially relieved that Mila had agreed to keep the dog. As he sat in the kitchen with his new furry friend, he couldn’t help but feel bad. He’d always been a dog person, but Mila’s dislike for canines worried him.

To Chris, this dog was more than just a pet. He was his best friend who had tugged at his heartstrings.

Chris had decided to do whatever it took to make things work, even if it meant sleeping on the kitchen floor with the dog for a while, until Mila changed her mind and accepted Ollie.

So that night, he slept in the kitchen with the mutt curled up near his leg, delighted he’d done a good deed by bringing the dog home. But that joy lasted only a night.

“Ollie…hey boy…come here…where are you?” panic rose in Chris’s chest as he looked around for the dog the next morning.

Ollie was gone.

He searched every nook and cranny of the kitchen and the apartment, but Ollie was nowhere to be found. The silence was deafening, and Chris’s heart sank, and it felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his newfound buddy so soon.

“Did he run away?

Did Mila take him away when I was asleep and leave him on the street?” he thought and immediately confronted his girlfriend. But to his surprise, Mila denied his charges and told him she’d not seen Ollie that morning.

“Why would I even think of getting rid of him when you wanted him,” argued Mila.

“Honey, I know you love dogs, okay? And I don’t like them, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get rid of something you love without telling you.

You wanted to keep him, and I could do nothing much. I don’t like that dog, but I love you, so that’s why I agreed to keep him. I haven’t seen him since morning…trust me, babe.

Maybe he’s run away to where he belonged or something. I told you you were wasting time with that dog. Now it’s your headache to find him.

I have to do the dishes, so if you mind movin’….”

When Mila entered the kitchen, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her piercing scream jolted Chris as he ran inside to see what it was.

“I told you…Now look at what that dog did,” fumed Mila. “He has stolen the steak I’d kept on the table to thaw.

You brought home a four-legged thief, Chris, and you better be sorry now. I knew that dog was a nuisance…I just knew it.”

“I’d still buy your words about that goddamn dog’s loyalty if it stole my dumb boyfriend instead of my precious steak,” Mila burst into a giddy laugh, mocking Chris for taking a stand for the dog the previous night.

Chris’s mind started racing as Mila laughed at him over his trust for Ollie. He couldn’t believe that the dog would do such a thing.

For a moment, he even doubted if he’d done the right thing in bringing Ollie home.

“Maybe she was right!” Chris was disappointed as he left for work that morning. “I shouldn’t have brought Ollie home…Now she’ll keep taunting me and won’t allow me to bring another dog home again. Thanks for doing this, Ollie…You broke my trust.”

Chris was taken aback when he arrived at the marketplace and saw Ollie standing in the same spot outside the bike shop.

The sight of the dog stirred his anger and regret.

As the day fleeted by, Chris was increasingly irritated by Ollie’s behavior and ignored the dog whenever he approached him, wagging his tail.

When lunchtime rolled around, Chris decided not to share his food with Ollie. He was still furious with the dog for stealing the steak and running away, and he couldn’t bring himself to forgive Ollie for betraying him.

Later that evening, Chris watched the poor dog curled up outside the bike shop, looking sad and hungry. Suddenly, somebody tossed Ollie a stale loaf of bread.

Chris saw the excitement in the mutt’s eyes as he eagerly grabbed the treat and bolted out of the market, not even bothering to eat it. Fueled by suspicion, Chris decided to follow Ollie to find out where he was taking the food every day.

“Where is he going with the food without even taking a bite?” Chris panted as he chased after Ollie. It had been a little over two hours, but the dog kept trotting without stopping anywhere on the way to have a crumb of bread.

Finally, Ollie slowed down at reaching a secluded neighborhood on the outskirts of the town.

“What’s he doing here…this far away?” gasped Chris as he followed the dog to see where he was going.

He then saw Ollie heading toward a house surrounded by several outbuildings at the end of the lane. The house seemed abandoned, and Chris couldn’t understand what the little dog was doing out there and for whom he was taking the food daily.

Chris’s heavy footsteps on the rubble distracted Ollie. But the dog didn’t bother to wait for him.

He vaguely wagged his tail and squeezed his petite body through a hole under a chain-link fence, making his way onto the other side of the compound.

“What do you have in there, Ollie?” Chris grew tense as he climbed the fence and landed on the premises, following the dog toward the house.

“Hey, boy…why are you digging under the door?” Chris called out to Ollie again, but the dog was busy pawing a hole beneath the door. The door was locked, and Chris thought Ollie was trying to dig his way in.

Moments later, Chris couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. Ollie put the loaf of bread in the small hole he had dug while another dog started barking on the opposite side, scratching ferociously at the door.

Curious, Chris peeked through the window and stood back in shock.

On the other side was a big German Shepherd trapped inside the house, devouring the loaf of bread.

“Oh, my God! So you’ve been bringing food for your buddy stuck in there!” Chris gasped as Ollie gently whimpered and wagged his tail, staring at Chris.

Chris heard the German Shepherd barking furiously, and it was clear that it was in some distress. Chris knew he had to act fast and knocked on the door, calling out to the owner again and again.

But there was no answer.

“Weird…Where did the owner go, and why is that poor dog trapped inside the house? Who locked him in there?” thought Chris as he rummaged through the surroundings, looking for a clue.

“Hello…anyone there…hello….” Chris called out around the yard, but nobody was there. The outbuildings looked abandoned, and the house itself seemed unlived in for a long time.

Chris understood that the dog had been stuck in that house since time unknown and was in need of help.

He tried to find a way inside the house, but all the doors and windows were jammed or locked.

When Chris couldn’t find any other entry points, he decided to call the cops to rescue the German Shepherd and figure out where the owner had disappeared. Just as he finished speaking to the dispatcher on 911, something strange drew Chris’s attention.

“Jesus, what’s that awful smell?” he frowned and covered his nose in disgust at what appeared to be the stench of something rotting in one of the buildings nearby.

Just as Chris marched to the source of the smell, the cops arrived and took charge.

“Officer, I was the one who called…My name is Chris,” he greeted the sheriff. “There’s a big dog trapped in that house, and I think the owner is missing.”

The cops broke open the door, and what Chris saw moments later plucked his heart out and moved him to tears.

A huge German Shepherd was brought out on a leash, looking weak and thin due to a lack of food and water. Tears gushed into Chris’s eyes when he saw the dog shakily standing on its paws. It looked like he hadn’t eaten well in days and that the only source of nutrition that kept him alive was the food Ollie had been bringing him daily.

“Hey, Max…hey boy…don’t worry…you’re safe and free now,” said Chris as he patted the dog with a reassuring touch after seeing his name on the collar.

Chris was so furious with the owner for abandoning the dogs in such horrible conditions.

And just as he marched to the cops to file a complaint, he saw two officers running around with a crime scene tape toward one of the outbuildings that emanated the rotting stench.

Moments later, Chris’s mouth twitched, and he almost threw up when he saw a man’s decomposed body being carried out on a stretcher. It shocked him even more when he learned that the dead man was the bike shop owner who had disappeared several weeks ago.

“We’re yet to determine the cause of Mr. Lawrence’s death,” the sheriff told Chris.

“Sources suggest he was a heart patient who lived alone here with his two dogs. It could’ve been a heart attack, but we’re yet to be sure…And these dogs will be sent to the shelter.”

Chris’s heart throbbed, and he didn’t want to leave the poor dogs alone. He knew he couldn’t abandon them after witnessing their distress and the heartbreaking twist of fate.

So he talked to the cop and agreed to adopt the dogs and take them home.

While Max was sent to the veterinary hospital for recovery, Chris took Ollie home with him, knowing Mila would be mad at him again.

“Not again, Chris. I thought we’d lost him,” Mila frowned when she saw Ollie hiding behind Chris’s legs and looking up at her with big, pleading eyes.

To her surprise, Ollie wagged his tail as he slowly approached her. With an eager look in his big coffee brown eyes, the dog extended his paw to Mila.

When the soft pads of his paw met Mila’s hand, tears gushed into her eyes. Later, when Chris told her about the encounter that day, her heart melted and she agreed to adopt the two dogs. A couple of weeks later, Chris and Mila were the happiest dog parents when they welcomed Max home from the hospital.

What can we learn from the story?