I was sitting in the kitchen early Thursday morning with my ever faithful companion, Ralph my beagle, when I heard whining from a dog. I looked down at Ralph, he looked up at me confused, thinking I was the one doing the whining. But, this sounded like whining from a puppy. So, I put down the newspaper, and opened the back door. Looking up at me with the saddest eyes in the world was a solid black puppy of about 8 weeks old, I guessed. It was a mixed breed with a bit of lab mixed in heavily. I brought him in and as you would guess, Ralph was far from being pleased about this sudden intruder. I had to put Ralph in the adjoining dining room to calm him down. It was evident by the way the puppy was smelling around that he was starving. I got some of Ralph's dry dog food, put it in a bowl and the little puppy went to work on it like a buzz saw on timber. He ate up the entire bowl. I don't know where he put it. But, he ate it all. I did not give him any more because I was afraid it would make him sick. He appeared to not have eaten in a couple of days or more.

I put the little black puppy in a old computer box, put some old warm towels in there and he went right to sleep. I went around to a few neighbors and asked if they knew if anyone had gotten a midnight black puppy and had lost it. I spent about an hour checking around and no one could help me out as to where the puppy came from and wound up on my doorstep. One neighbor told me that it was not uncommon for people to abandon dogs or little puppies they no longer wanted in a big neighborhood like ours. That made my blood boil. Then another neighbor suggested I call the animal shelter. That made my blood boil even more since that was a certain death sentence.

I don't know for sure what I'm going to do with him. He's such a little fellow and needs a friend. I am going to ask family members if they want him. I know a cousin that lost a beloved big yellow lab about two months ago. I don't know if they are ready for another dog or not. I just know I am not calling the animal shelter. I am not going to abandon him to a uncaring world either. I just can't do that. Ralph is not happy about it at all. Ralph will just have to get over himself. He might have a little brother now whether he likes it or not.