During the wind storm last weekend, Annie, our beloved family dog went missing. At home, her job was to watch and take care of our deaf dog, Patches. She did her job with a thankful heart, after all, we rescued Annie from starving to death or being eaten by a wild animal when we found her on an old dirt road that’s now know as just a place to party in a dead end valley.

Every one except me has already given up hope that Annie would some day return and a new companion for Patches was about to be adopted. We of course had no idea of Annie’s age or history which could have been useful in the event of making missing flyers, yet after she didn’t return, every one wept.

Our neighbors across the valley, through woods, wet land, and a creek that could swallow you up in an instant, showed up at our door with our beautiful blue eyed girl, Annie. What really surprised us though was the explanation about why Annie was away for so long.

During the storm, a boy with autism wandered off and fell into the creek. Annie stayed with him through the storm even though she herself had always been scared of the storms. The next morning, she showed up at the worried boy’s house, with a drenched boy who had to have been freezing to death by then.

Annie showed that she isn’t just another stray dog. She’s a friend; she’s family, a hero, but most of all, she’s a good neighbor. Even thought she didn’t need to leave the warm safeness of her own home during a wind storm across dangerous tundra, yet she did for a young man who was in need. And when she was done helping him, she came back to her home to once again be by our side. To protect Patches, to be with my grandma as she feeds horses, but most of all, being a good friend.