By Jamison Rae Roethler
Current Contributor

It was a dark and stormy night, and a young 10-year-old girl was crying on her bed. As the lightning flashed from the window, her eyes were red, and you could see she had been crying for quite some time. On the floor and all over the bed were “LOST DOG” flyers that she had made and put around town all day, just before the storm. 

The dog in the picture was a brown mutt, with a black smudge over one eye. His ears were lopsided, and he was about five years old—at least that’s what the dog shelter had told her and her family. The name below the picture was “Yooper.” He had been missing all day. 

He was her best friend. Amelia loved Yooper and—before he went missing—the pair could be spotted all through town together. They had been inseparable. He would go to the park with her, to the bakery for his favorite treats, a stop by the realty office for a drink of water from their sidewalk bowl, and he loved visiting the garden next to the brewery. 

“Amelia! Where are you?” called her mother, who had also spent the day hanging flyers in the hopes that they would find Yooper. 

“I’m in my room,” cried Amelia. “Did you find him?” she asked through her tears. 

Slowly, her mother walked to the doorway of her room. 

“No, honey I didn’t.” she replied. Amelia’s mother looked at her daughter, the flyers, and knew they couldn’t give up! “Put on your jacket, boots, and grab a flashlight. We aren’t done. There’s a storm out there, and we can’t let Yooper be alone in it!” 

The two put on raincoats, boots, and grabbed flashlights and headed out to Main Street. It wasn’t completely dark, and many businesses were still open or getting ready to close after a busy day. As they passed the shops, people poked their heads out one by one to inquire. 

“What is going on?” asked Frannie, one of the shop owners. 

“Yopper is missing! He can’t be in this storm alone!” replied Amelia, as she raced down the sidewalk. 

Frannie grabbed her coat and locked her shop door to join in the search—and she wasn’t the only one. As Amelia and her mother reached the end of Main Street, they came to realize almost all of the shop, restaurant, and business owners were with them, searching in the dark, stormy night for one loveable mutt. The crowd of people scattered around the beach searching for Yooper. Suddenly, there was a quiet, muffed yelp, and Rick, one of the business owners, approached a wet cardboard box where the noise had come from. He reached down, and in it was Yooper! Cold, wet, and a tail that couldn’t stop wagging in excitement! 

Amelia raced over to Rick. He handed Amelia her lost dog. Amelia began crying and kissing Yooper. The rain kept falling, and—surrounded by her family and her incredible town—she was reunited with her best friend.

Read the rest of the 2023 essay contest winners—along with an archive of previous years of winners—at BetsieCurrent.com online.