Billy went out the back door, his usual routine

At lunch time

He passed right through the screen

His snout met the ground

He looked around

Then he headed straight for the bush along the fence

I watched in suspense

He barked, then wagged his tail

Barked some more

I called him to come but to no avail

I went out and dragged him back to the house

Inside, he stood at the door

I let him out again but I didn’t know what for

Later we were walking past the telephone pole

Billy sat right beside it and sniffed

I looked up

A fresh flyer was stapled there: “LOST: orange cat” with a photo and a phone number for Claire

Billy looked at it then me

We walked back home and there in the backyard, he went for that bush again, he approached it hard

At dinner time he took his bowl in his mouth and put it right beside that bush

A trick I never taught him to do

Billy reclined where the bush grew

I looked around, didn’t see a thing

He stared into the bush

Green leaves, brown stems

And I saw them!

Two green eyes

An orange coat

It was exactly what the woman on the sign wrote!

Billy wagged his tail

I went back to the poster on the telephone pole

Called Claire, told her we found her cat

In a minute she arrived, her weeping daughter in tow

“That creature is the best friend she’s ever known,” said Claire

Claire climbed into the bush and coaxed the cat

She pulled him out of the bush and gave him to the girl – that was that

The girl hugged the cat – “Loki!” and cried

Claire said, “He disappeared yesterday and we haven’t slept all night”

They both expressed their thanks  and the girl gave Billy a hug

They walked back home, next door

They were our unknown neighbors, hidden behind the shrubs

I’d never seen them before

Loki – his first time outside the house

Still a mystery as to how he got out

A few nights later I couldn’t sleep

The spot behind me in the bed was empty

It was raining hard and I got up to peek

I saw pawprints in the muddy driveway

What could I say?
I once taught the pup how to open the front door with his snout

The air outside smelled like bacon

It got me thinkin’

I followed the pawprints to the neighbor’s house

Their screen door was open

Billy was on the couch

Eating bacon with that little girl and Loki

What a sight to see