01/23/2025
LONELY 91-YEAR-OLD MAN RESCUES A PUPPY, NOT KNOWING IT WOULD SOON SAVE HIM
Burt was the kind of old recluse every neighborhood has—the one people nod to but never really know. But Burt hadn’t chosen solitude. After losing his wife and son years ago, he simply faded into the background, unnoticed and alone. At 91, the silence of his home had become unbearable.
Then, one chilly afternoon, he heard a faint whimper. A battered cardboard box sat near the curb, a note taped to the top: "Take care of him!" Inside, a trembling black-and-white puppy stared up at him. Burt scooped him up, took him home, and named him Sebastian.
For the first time in years, life had color again. But one morning, something felt… off. The neighborhood dogs barked wildly, and Sebastian was restless. Then, in the blink of an eye—he was gone. Burt called for him, searched for him, but nothing. Days turned into weeks, but he never gave up.
And then, one day, the phone rang. It was the police.
