Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhoods, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.

One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home. At first, they weren't too concerned because he had disappeared before. Assuming he was just out roaming, they didn't look for him. But Brownie didn't show up the next day and by the next week he was still missing.  Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie's house alone, barking, whining, and generally pestering Brownie's human family.

Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog. Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take "no" for an answer. Ted, the father of the family with whom Brownie lived, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog.  Spotty followed him about, barking insistently, then darting toward the empty lot and back as if to say, "Follow me! It's urgent!"

Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a fence, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half mile from the house. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leghold trap. Horrified, Ted now wished he'd taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously.

Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable. Spotty had done more than simply lead Brownie's human to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of bones and table scraps -- which were later identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single-minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort.

Spotty had evidently stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up. Brownie's leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses.