I was driving along County Road 12 on a hectic morning when I spotted something unexpected by the roadside—a group of four muddy, shivering boxer puppies huddled near a ditch. I was already running late for a big meeting and not in the mood for detours, but I couldn’t just drive past. There was no sign of a mother dog or nearby home, just the pups and a battered, half-collapsed box. I pulled over without thinking, scooped the trembling puppies into an old hoodie I had in the car, and brought them home.
After a quick bath and towel dry, I planned to scan them for microchips and post in a local lost pets group. That’s when I noticed a yellow collar on one pup, with a small, handwritten tag hidden beneath the clasp. It read: “Not Yours.” The words chilled me. Later, my friend Tate, a vet tech, came by. When he saw the tag, his face fell.
