Somewhere along the mountains and plains of Idaho lived a loving family of three. Well, four, if you include their adorable crossbred Cavapoo. The Reaves family rescued and adopted little Ollie when he was abandoned by his previous owner. It was difficult for Amanda and Joseph Reaves to keep up with Ollie, as he needed proper care to get healthy and they were both working 6 days a week. But thankfully, their son Sam helped out with him. Sam would take Ollie on walks every day, and made sure that his bowls were filled with just the right amount of food and water. Sam even dedicated a spot in his already tiny room just for Ollie to sleep. He saved up money to buy toys for him and would sometimes make his own. One time, Ollie snuck outside and was lost for almost an hour. Thankfully, the family found him playing with a stick behind some bushes. They were nervous that Ollie would get lost again, so they put their money together to get him a tag for his collar. The tag would display Ollie’s address and name so that he could be returned if it were to ever happen again.
After a couple years and a few promotions, the Reaves were able to upgrade from their small house to a slightly bigger one. Their new home was a few towns over, but it put them closer to Sam’s school. This new house was quaint and needed a nicer exterior. But, Amanda and Joseph fell in love with the potential of it. Sure, the tiles on the roof were falling off and the flowers in the front were as dead as a doorknob. And maybe the front deck was bound to fall in any moment now. The family moved in anyway and made sure that they had enough money to make the repairs. After a few months of blood, sweat, tears, and hard labor, the family had officially moved into their newly renovated, beautifully decorated house.

Sam’s room in this new house was two times the size of his old one. He could now have a normal sized mattress, which was a huge upgrade to the one he outgrew when he was six. Sam’s new room also had a built-in closet to use instead of bins, a working lamp, and a nicer spot for Ollie. The backyard was much bigger and had a fence, so Ollie could run around freely without being restricted by his leash. There were a few big trees that dropped branches every now and then, so he would always have a new toy to run after. Amanda and Joseph had a house of their dreams. They had a beautiful master bedroom with its own bathroom. They also purchased new, comfortable furniture for the living room. You could actually see out of the windows and the doors would open without having to kick it. The Reaves had a happy, healthy family and a brand new home. They were living the dream, until the events of Saturday night occurred.

The Reaves were having a typical day. Sam was home from spending the night at his friend’s house, and both Amanda and Joseph were done with work. Amanda was cooking up some spaghetti and meatballs, and Joseph was watching a football game on the couch. Sam had just finished his 7th grade science fair project, which was making a power source out of different vegetables. Ollie had been playing outside. He had been working on a hole by the fence for the longest time, and he was finally getting somewhere. Now, keep in mind that this family absolutely loved this dog. And this dog felt the exact same way for them. But, when you’re a dog, you get kind of bored after the same old routine of just playing with a stick in the same area every day. So, being a curious little puppy, Ollie dug a hole that eventually made a path to the other side of the fence. He got out of the hole and just started running. He had no clue where he was going, but he was going to run until he couldn’t anymore.

“Mom, did you let Ollie in? I let him out a while ago but I don’t see him.” Sam yelled down.

“No honey,” Amanda yelled back up. “Joseph, did you let the dog in?”

“No, no. I’ve been watching the game. Isn’t he outback?” Joseph said, having just woken up to Sam yelling. “Sam, why don’t you go check real quick? He might just be playing in the flower bush or hiding under the table.”

So, that’s just what Sam did. He went out back to find nothing but the sticks Ollie had been playing with before. Just as Sam was about to walk in, he spotted the hole out of the corner of his eye. He ran over to it, and noticed that it was about the size of Ollie. With tears forming in his eyes, he ran back inside to share the bad news.

“He’s gone! He dug a hole! A dumb hole right under the fence. We have to go look for him! Please let me go look,” exclaimed Sam. “I’ll come back for dinner. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to him.” Amanda and Joseph looked at each other, and nodded.

“Ollie is more important than spaghetti and meatballs. We’ll all come. Grab your jacket.” said Amanda. That night, the Reaves walked around their town looking for Ollie. Joseph went back to the house to print out pictures of him to post around. They weren’t sure how long he had been gone, but it was December in Idaho, and temperatures could drop to below zero. They looked until their lips turned blue, and they hoped that Ollie found a shelter somewhere. Amanda had to convince Sam that Ollie would be ok, because she knew that Sam would stay out all night looking for him if she hadn’t talked to him about it.

“Ollie is a very smart dog. He’ll either find his way home, find another home, or find somewhere to stay. Let’s go back inside, get a good night sleep, and look for him tomorrow morning.” Amanda said to Sam. They walked home and cuddled together on the couch until Sam eventually fell asleep. Amanda knew how much this dog meant to Sam, and she hoped that Ollie would turn up alright.

A few blocks down from the Reaves lived the Caliente family. They were surprised to wake up Sunday morning and find that Ollie had been scratching on their front door and napping on their porch. When Marina Caliente saw Ollie’s tag, she drove him back to their house. But it wasn’t the Reaves’ new house; it was their old house. The family completely forgot to change the tag on Ollie’s collar, but Marina didn’t know that. So, she took him back to the new owners of their old house and told them how she found him.

“Thank you so much. We’ve been looking for him for a couple days now. Marina, right?” said Mr. Jones; the new owner of the Reaves’ old house.

“Yes, sir. Marina Caliente.” Marina told the man. He slammed the door, but she left happily, thinking that she had returned a missing dog to its family.

“Ahaha! We’ve got a dog! We can make tons of money with this pup.” said Mr. Jones. His wife clapped in excitement and laughed with him. On the other hand, their daughter, Miranda Jones, was not impressed. She did not like the thought of selling animals for money. She noticed that the Cavapoo had a collar and tag, so she knew that it was somebody else’s dog, and someone brought it here by mistake.

“No! You can’t sell him! He belongs to somebody else.” Miranda stated. Her parents looked at her in disgust.
“Well, why on earth do you want a worthless pet that just makes messes and costs us money?” said Mrs. Jones.

“I don’t want him. Well, I do, but I can’t. He belongs to somebody else, and I think that we should give him back.” Miranda said, taking the dog out of her dad’s arms.

“We’re selling this here dog whether you like it or not. Go to your room, and don’t come back until it’s Monday!” Mr. Jones said. He grabbed Ollie back and set him in a convenient cage. “We’ll be back. We have to go buy some stuff for this pooch. Don’t leave your room. Or else.”

Back at the Reaves, Sam woke up with tears on his face. Amanda made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes with blueberries and strawberries. Sam ate the whole thing up, and ran back upstairs to bundle up for a search for Ollie. Amanda came up to accompany him, and sat down on his bed.

“We’re going to find him today. I promise. And even if we don’t, somebody will. Whoever does can look at the tag on his collar and retu-“ Amanda paused. Her eyes opened super wide and she ran to her room to get dressed. Sam followed behind, and asked what she had realized. “We didn’t change the tag on his collar! Whoever found him could be taking him back to the old house!” Amanda exclaimed, as she struggled to put on her gloves. Sam heard this, and bolted out the front door without Amanda, who would follow behind him a few seconds after.

When Miranda’s parents left, she ran to the cage and used a bobby pin to undo the lock. She grabbed Ollie and a rope to use for a leash. When she was halfway down her street, she saw a boy running right toward her. She grabbed Ollie and moved to the side so the boy could get by without running them over. But then, the boy stopped. He stared at Miranda, and started running toward her again.

“Mom! Mom! I found him! Oh God Ollie we found you!” Sam shouted, now skipping toward Miranda. Miranda dropped the rope and let Ollie jump into Sam’s arms. With tears gliding down his freckled cheek, he held Ollie for a good ten minutes.

“Thank you so much dear. I’m Sam’s mom, Amanda. We lost Ollie yesterday and we didn’t know what to do. We asked the neighborhood, put up posters, and looked everywhere for him. Then I remembered that we didn’t change the tag on his collar, and so we ran here.” Amanda spoke, clearly out of breath. “What’s your name?”

“Miranda. Miranda Jones. My parents are jerks and wanted to keep your dog to sell him. But they left to buy some stuff for Ollie. So when they did, I grabbed him and was going to ask around the neighborhood to see if anyone knew who he belonged to. But, you know, here you are.” Miranda said. She was happy to return Ollie back to his owners.

“Thank you. Thank you so so so so so much, Miranda. I’m Sam. I can’t thank you enough. What can I do to repay you?” Sam said. He let Ollie go and gave Miranda a huge hug.

“Could I just give Ollie a hug? He’s so adorable and he’s such a good puppy. He listened to me and even gave me a few kisses on my cheek.” Miranda said.

“Yes, of course!” Sam said, passing Ollie to Miranda. She gave him a big hug, and then gave him back. “Why don’t you come over for a little while? You can get away from your parents and you can play with me and Ollie!” Sam said.

“Oh, that would be amazing! Thank you!” Miranda said back.

Many years passed and Sam and Miranda were still very close. They graduated high school together, and moved into their own house with both Amanda and Joseph. They all combined their love for animals together and created an animal adoption center. So in the end, getting across to the other side of the fence isn’t always a bad thing. It lets you meet new people, get in some trouble, and most importantly, spark opportunity for adventure.