Once upon a time, there was a super cool 9-year-old girl named Emma and her really awesome dad, Murph. They were like best buddies, kind of like peanut butter and jelly! They could almost finish each other’s sentences! But there was one thing both Emma and her dad wanted really, really badly—a super awesome Australian Blue Heeler dog! They even knew what they wanted to name her: Pepper!

Emma and Murph were so crafty! They came up with all sorts of sneaky plans to convince Emma’s mom to let them get a dog. One time, they pretended they won the grand prize at the county fair, which was an Australian Blue Heeler! But for some reason, Mom didn’t believe them. Then Dad said, “Let’s just say Santa brought us a puppy!” But Mom overheard them and said, “If Santa brought a puppy, it would be on the next flight back to the North Pole!” 

Emma and Dad were out of ideas. So Dad said, “Let’s go for a walk and think.” While they were walking, something wet touched Emma's hand. When she looked down, there was the cutest little doggy face ever! She squealed, “Daddy, look! Is this an Australian Blue Heeler??” Dad looked at the dog and said, “Wow! I think it is!” The little dog was all dirty and didn’t have a collar, and they both exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! I think this dog is lost!”

They decided to take the little dog home, but when they told Mom, she thought they were just playing a trick to get a dog. They really weren’t! Emma and Dad tried to explain that they found the dog and wanted to help her find her real owners, but Mom got mad and didn’t believe them. So, Emma and Murph made signs to put up around the neighborhood, and they called all the shelters and even the sheriff's department! 

Guess what? The real owners were also looking for their dog and calling the same places! They figured out who owned the little dog! When the real owners came to pick up the dog, Emma was so surprised to see that the girl was also 9 years old! Emma realized that the little dog really missed her home and family. 

After the real owners took their dog home, Mom came over and said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.” Emma and Dad smiled and said, “No, we’re sorry we tried to trick you into getting a dog before this”. Then Mom said, “Go get your shoes on!” Emma shouted, “Why??” And Mom replied, “Because we’re going to a shelter to see if we can find a nice dog to adopt!”

Emma jumped up and down with excitement! She couldn’t wait to find a new furry friend!