Rod slammed the door, trying to keep the rain and wind from following him into the cozy gas station. Huddled around the heater in the center of the room sat several other truck drivers who’d found refuge from the storm.
«Heavy rains and high winds over most of the area tonight,» the announcer on the radio said. «Motorists should be on the alert for hazardous driving conditions and slippery roads.»
«Whooeee!» Rod said as he seated himself by the counter. «This weather ain’t fit for man nor beast.» Just then he noticed a small beagle puppy huddled on a crumpled towel in a corner of the room. «Got yourself a dog, huh?» he called over to his friend Ci.
«No,» the man answered. «I think someone left him here earlier today when they stopped for gas. He just kinda appeared. Looks scared.»
Reaching over, Rod picked up the trembling pup. «Must be the runt of the litter.»
«This just in,» the radio announcer called from the speaker mounted overhead. «A little girl named Kathy who lives on Route 58, 10 miles east of the grade school, said she lost her puppy today. It’s a beagle, three months old.»
Rod grinned. «Well, that mystery is solved.» He headed for the door. «Gotta get this little fellow back home where he belongs.»
«In this weather?» Ci retorted. «Besides, it’s fifty miles out of your way.»
«One thing I can’t stand to see is a scared puppy or a lonely little girl,» the burly truck driver responded. » ‘Bye.»
That night a girl and her puppy were reunited because someone put their feelings first.