Alex was coming out of his kitchen when he saw that his front door had been left open. he began calling out for his pet dog, Pokey. But Pokey didn’t answer with a bark, nor come running to greet him. Pokey must have gone outside without him noticing. Alex dropped his sandwich on the table and grabbed Pokey’s leash. He ran out the door in search of Pokey.

The neighborhood was big, with lots of streets and houses where Pokey could be hiding. But Alex was determined to find his pet.

First, he went to the park where Pokey liked to play. Alex looked everywhere, calling Pokey's name, but he couldn't find him. He went up to several people, describing Pokey and asking if they had seen him.

Next, Alex took out his phone and found a photo of Pokey, he knocked on doors around the neighborhood asking people if they had seen his dog. He didn’t have any luck, no one had seem him, but they promised to keep an eye out. Alex felt sadder as time passed.

Still, Alex didn't give up. he put up posters with Pokey's picture, asking for help to find him. "Lost Dog: Answers to Pokey. Please Call if Found," the posters read.

As it got darker, Alex felt more worried. He knew Pokey must be afraid too. But just when he was losing hope, he heard a bark in the distance. Alex followed the sound and found Pokey sitting on the porch of a nearby house, wagging his tail. He was next to an old man sitting in a rocking chair. Alex ran toward the house.

As he approached, the old man said, “There you are young fella’, this most certainly must be your dog.” 

“Yes,” said “Alex, thank you so much.”

“Well,” said the old man, “I could tell he was lost. He has a nice collar and a name tag, but no one was with him. So I called out to him and he came over and I fed him some food. We’ve just been sitting out here all afternoon waiting for you. I knew his owner would come by sooner or later.”

“Again, thank you so much.”

“By the way,” the old man said, “You should put your phone number on his name tag.”

“First thing tomorrow!” said Alex, feeling such relief.

Alex was grateful that a kind person had watched over Pokey. He also decided that he needed to take better safety precautions so this wouldn’t happen again.