There is a house where only dogs live. People come there to take care of them. They feed them, tend to them, and pet them. The dogs living there don’t have owners. They’ve been abandoned.
They don’t have to wander the streets, they live in a shelter like this, where they’re taken care of. Sometimes someone visits the shelter, picks out an abandoned dog, and takes it home. That’s exactly what Annie and her mom did.
It was a chilly autumn afternoon when Annie and her mom went to the shelter to pick out a dog. They walked around together, peeking into every kennel and every pen where the dogs were staying. The caretaker walked with them and described each dog to them. Some of them loved children and wanted to play, while others just needed to rest.
As Annie peeked into one pen, she saw several dogs together. They were all wagging their tails and jumping up at the fence. Only one was hiding in the corner, peeking out timidly. “Miss caretaker, can I go to him?” Annie asked. “Yes, you can. But you have to be careful. His first owners didn’t take good care of him, and now he’s scared,” said the woman who was guiding them through the shelter.
So Annie opened the pen. She slowly sat down next to the puppy and reached out her hand to him. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you. Trust me,” whispered Annie. The puppy looked at her, slowly sniffed her outstretched hand, and crouched down beneath it. “I want this one,” said Annie, looking decisively at her mom.
And it was decided. Annie fell completely in love with the puppy. She named him Alf. She took care of him as best she could. Alf gradually started to trust her and stopped being afraid. But one day, he had to muster a great deal of courage.
Several months had passed; Annie was older now and attending school. When she came home from school in the afternoon, she sometimes took a shortcut through the nearby forest. Alf usually waited for her halfway there. He would wait obediently for her and then walk her home. But that afternoon, Annie didn’t come. Alf was starting to get impatient. He paced back and forth, straining his neck as much as he could to catch a glimpse of his Annie. But she was nowhere to be seen.
Alf sat in front of the grove. He wanted to go see if Annie was there somewhere. He really wanted to go into the woods to find out what had happened. But he was afraid. His first owners, with whom he had lived before he was at the shelter, used to tie him to a tree in a similar forest and leave him there. Alf never understood why. Ever since then, he had been very afraid to go into the woods. Whenever he got close to one, a strange feeling would come over him, and he’d get goosebumps. But now it was about his Annie. What if something had happened to her?
Alf began to breathe deeply and steel himself. After a few minutes, he broke into a run. Toward his fear, toward his worries. His love for Anička was greater after all. He needed to find her. He ran through the forest, caught the scent of his beloved little girl, and ran after her.
A moment later, he found Anička lying in a small ditch. She still had her backpack on her back. She wasn’t moving. Alf jumped on top of her and began frantically licking her while barking. Anička opened her eyes and was happy to see her friend.
“Alf, did you find me? Did you come looking for me? You’re afraid of the woods. I’m so glad to have you. I slipped, fell, and hit my head. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here,” Annie explained as she hugged her dog. Alf helped Annie to her feet. He let her lean on him. He led her safely home.
Her parents were already waiting for them there. When Annie told them everything, they were happy to have such a brave dog. And Alf? He felt good about himself. He had overcome his fear and saved his little girl. From then on, Annie never called him anything other than “hero.”
