Woman Shelters Lost Dog, Neighboring Jeweler Sees Its Collar and Gasps – Story of the Day

When Emma takes in a lost dog, she never imagines it would offer her the key to riches. But the dog's jeweled collar turns out to be the key to solving the mystery of what happened to the dog's original owner.

"Woof! Woof!"

Emma was closing up her bookstore and the loud barking behind her startled her so badly that she dropped her keys. She turned and found a large dog standing behind her.

"Where did you come from?" Emma asked as she retrieved her keys.

The dog crept closer and pressed up against Emma's leg. He looked up at her and wagged his tail. Emma scratched his ear, and her hand brushed against the collar hidden beneath the dog's thick, curly coat.

Emma parted the dog's fur to see if there was a name tag attached to the collar. Instead, she found rows of shiny blue and yellow stones encircled with thin, golden wire set into the red leather collar.

"That is one fancy collar," Emma said. "Someone must be looking for you."

Emma glanced up and down the street, but didn't spot anyone who seemed like they were looking for the dog. She asked some passers-by if they'd seen anyone, but they all shook their heads.

It seemed like she had no other choice, so Emma took the dog home with her. She ate dinner, fed the dog some of the food she'd picked up on the way home, then settled onto the sofa.

"Let's see if anyone has posted on social media about a lost dog," Emma said.

The dog sat beside the couch and rested his chin on her knee. Emma looked down into his soulful eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll find your owner." She patted the dog's head.

Emma took the dog to work with her the next day. She took a photo of him sitting on the blanket she'd brought for him and designed a poster she could put up around town.

"I didn't know you had a dog."

Emma looked up at the man who'd just entered her shop. It was Peter, the jeweler who owned the shop next door.

"I found him, but he's not mine."

Peter walked closer to the dog but stopped short when he started growling.

"Well, I hope he doesn't scare away your customers with that attitude," Peter huffed.

Peter's words worried Emma. She kept a close eye on the dog, but he didn't growl at anyone else. When a woman with a toddler entered the store, the dog even went over to snuffle the child.

Emma closed the shop early that day and walked around town putting up the posters she made earlier. The dog followed her every step of the way.

Emma was certain she'd soon get a call from the dog's owners, but days passed without anyone coming forward to claim the dog. At some point during those days, she started calling him Fluffy, which he seemed to like. He would wag his tail and spin a circle whenever she said the name.

"Maybe that's your name from now on," Emma mused as she curled up on the couch with Fluffy to watch TV.

Fluffy pressed his cold nose against her cheek, making Emma yelp in surprise. He then started licking her, and Emma broke out in giggles as she fended off the big, friendly dog.

The next day, Emma and Fluffy were in Emma's bookshop when the door burst open and Peter ran in. He was clutching one of the posters Emma put up in his hand.

"I need to see that dog's collar," Peter said. "It's very important."

He lunged toward Fluffy. The dog leaped to his feet and his lips curled back to show a row of sharp, white teeth.

"Easy, Fluffy." Emma sidled around her desk and hooked her fingers into Fluffy's collar to restrain him as she turned to Peter. "What did you say, Peter? You need to see his collar?"

Peter nodded, his gaze fixed on the big dog, which was now growling at him. Emma calmed Fluffy with some gentle strokes and parted his fur so Peter could see his collar.

Peter leaned closer and gave a loud gasp. "I knew it! Those are real gemstones!"

"What?" Emma lowered her gaze to stare at the stones on the collar. "Are you sure they aren't glass?"

"As sure as I can be from here," Peter replied. "And if the stones are real, then I'm betting the metalwork is real gold."

"Who would put real gems and gold on a dog collar?"

Emma shook her head and unbuckled the collar. She held it out to Peter. "Please check it properly. I know you're an expert, but you can't be right about this."

Peter studied the collar for a few moments then gave a nod. "They're real, Emma. You know what this means, don't you?"

Emma shrugged. "That Fluffy's owners are rich?"

Peter shook his head. "Nobody's contacted you to claim the dog so it means that you're rich."

Emma took the collar from Peter and stared at it in shock. The intricate metalwork and stones all sparkled under the lights. She thought of all the hours she'd spent in the shop wishing she could afford to hire someone so she could take some time off.

Then she looked down at Fluffy, who'd pressed against her legs and was staring up at her with the pure love that only a dog was capable of. She didn't understand why nobody had come forward to claim him, but if she was going to keep him then it didn't feel right to sell his collar.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked when she put the collar back on Fluffy's neck. "Let me keep it for a while to remove the jewels and gold."

Emma shook her head. "Whoever owned Fluffy originally gave him that collar as a symbol of how much they loved him. I don't know what might've happened to them, but I don't have the right to take that away from Fluffy."

"He's a dog! Jewels and gold mean nothing to him!" Peter shouted.

"But it's not about the jewels, Peter. It's about a person's love for their dog, and the dog's love for them."

"You're being ridiculous." Peter lunged forward to grab at Fluffy's neck, but the dog snapped at his fingers.

"Well, you can leave us both to be ridiculous then." Emma smiled at Peter. "I appreciate you wanting to help me, but I've made my decision."

Peter left the shop with a scowl. Emma returned to her desk, and Fluffy curled up at her feet.

"I wish I could find the person who loved you so much to give you that precious gift," Emma said as she rubbed Fluffy's belly.

The dog heaved a big sigh and shut his eyes. He seemed content, but Emma couldn't help but wonder what happened to his owner to bring Fluffy to her doorstep. She decided to search the internet and see if she could find anything.

A few hours later, Emma stared in shock at a newspaper story on her computer screen. She'd found Fluffy's owner, but she could never reunite him with the dog because he'd been murdered.

Emma read every article she could find about Fluffy's owner and what had happened to him. The police were still investigating the case, but it seemed that someone had broken into the millionaire's house and tried to open his safe.

The man seemed to have walked in while the burglars tried to crack the safe, and they'd shot him.

"I wonder how much of that you witnessed." Emma leaned down to rub Fluffy's ear.

There were a few more articles discussing the millionaire's accomplishments, charity projects, and his family. One of the stories had several photos. Emma zoomed in on a photo with a big dog in it.

"That's definitely you," Emma said to Fluffy. She looked at the smile on the older man's face as he scratched Fluffy's head. Then she noticed someone else standing just behind the millionaire.

Emma gasped. She rose from her chair so suddenly that Fluffy was startled. He joined her as she paced across the floor.

"It doesn't make sense," she muttered.

"The articles state that the man left his fortune to his family, so why..."

Emma stopped and looked down at Fluffy. She removed his collar again and examined it closely. She kept coming back to a plain, stainless steel plate inset just beside the buckle. It was a little bit loose and jiggled every time she touched it.

"This thing is distracting me." Emma pressed her thumb down on the plate to keep it still, but as she pressed down, the plate hinged upwards. Emma was struggling to fix it back in its place when she noticed the numbers engraved on the underside.

"That's what the burglar was after," Emma gasped. "This must be the code for the safe."

Emma called the police and then she ran next door to Peter's shop. She told him how she'd found Fluffy's owner and the code she found on his collar.

"But that's not even the weirdest part." Emma took out the picture she'd printed and pointed to the man in the background. "That's you, Peter. The millionaire was your grandfather and you murdered him, didn't you? What could be in that safe that was worth killing your own family?"

Peter scowled and snatched the page from her hand. "You shouldn't have meddled in this, Emma. Now, I'll have to silence you too."

Emma tried to run back out of the shop, but Peter was too quick. He twisted her arms behind her back, pinning her in place.

"You won't get away with this," Emma cried.

"Of course, I will." Peter steered her toward the door.

"All I need now is for you to get the collar from that stupid mutt."

Fear tingled along Emma's neck as Peter forced her to walk outside and into her shop. She'd told the police to enter through her back entrance when she called them, but she didn't see anyone in the shop except Fluffy.

The dog growled ominously at Peter as he shoved Emma to the ground.

"Get me that collar," Peter shouted. "Nobody else will appreciate the antique jewelry in that safe like me. I have to get it before someone else lays their filthy hands on it."

Emma looked up at Peter just as the police appeared and arrested him.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always trust an animal's instincts. When animals don't like specific people it's usually for a good reason.
• Greed will drive bad people to extreme actions. When people are overcome by greed for money or valuables, it can make them do terrible things to get what they want.

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This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.