Picture this - you go into your backyard and notice your puppy is missing. You frantically search everywhere. You call out his name repeatedly and you hear nothing but silence. You know something is wrong because your puppy loves you very much and runs to you with glee every time he hears your voice. Out of the corner of your eye you notice the gate to your property is slightly open.

You go into the house and your kids tell you they forgot to close the gate. Oh no, the puppy is gone. All of you rush to the front of the house in search. You go through the neighborhood in lightning speed in search of Fido. The next day you begin to put up posters everywhere. You ask neighbors have they seen your dog. And you get the same response, "No, I have not seen Fido, but I will call you if I see him." Nightfall and still no Fido.

Your children go to bed crying. You try and give them hope that tomorrow is a new day and maybe just maybe you will find him. Your husband awakens early and decides to go for a morning bike ride to clear his head. In the distance, he sees a puppy that looks like Fido. He gets closer and realizes in his own mind "there's my dog".

He rides by the woman holding his beloved pet and she arrogantly ignores the man. He develops a plan without thinking. He gets angry because this woman has stolen his dog. The nerve. His stress level is now at an all-time high. He decides what he has to do for the sake of his kids, his wife and his own sanity. He races up to the woman on his bike and tries to take the puppy from her. She starts to scream. He punches her, she fights back. He overpowers her, grabs the puppy and takes off on his bike.

He feels victorious because he got his dog back. So, he may have given her a black eye but she deserved it he reasons - she stole my puppy. Blocks from his house he takes a good look at his beloved puppy and realizes it is not his puppy. He panics and thinks to himself what have I done! He was so consumed with his own emotions and thoughts he stole a dog that did not belong to him and hurt an innocent woman in the process. He turns his bike around and heads back toward the woman. He finds hers. She looks afraid. He does not say anything and neither does she. He hands the dog back and takes off for home.

The next day he is arrested and is flashed on the news as the puppy thief. His family is ashamed and embarrassed. So the moral of the story is even if something as tragic as your puppy getting lost does not give you to the right to in turn make someone else's life just as miserable. In times of stress like this keep a cool head. You might get your beloved dog back and you might not. However, you have learned a valuable lesson. Make sure you keep your pet secure and never, never jump to conclusions when you are not thinking clearly.