We were running as fast as we could as we were soaking wet from the storm happening at noon in Tirana. Rushing in desperate need of getting home, we couldn’t find any taxis. We decided to continue and make a run for it. Traffic in the city, people making noises, me and my family could not focus on one thing at a time. Close by home, we see a white fluffy dog that seems to be injured and dirty.

We walk past it, and my brother says, "It's just a stray dog stop looking at it like it's your own!”   

My dad wanted to pick it up, as he felt bad leaving the dog in the middle of the road, with no shelter, no food, or protection.  

I insisted to my dad, “Please let's help him, let’s send it to the vet hospital.”

   
My dad looked at me with a disappointed look and said, “Let's go.”  

 
My dad carefully carried the dog, as he started crying in pain. His leg was shaking terribly. To me, he looked like a Malteser. He was dirty, almost like he had gray fur, not white. His fur was in some places and falling off the other. His leg was swaying back and forth, almost like it was broken. We decided to rush to our car home with my mom and dad. My brother had insisted that he went home, but our focus was the dog right now. We were rushing to the vet hospital, as we were driving in the middle of a storm, seeing nothing. As we arrived at the vet hospital, we ran inside soaking wet, begging for a doctor. My mom was begging the receptionist there if they could get a doctor as they were all very busy. Then a doctor walked into the reception.  

He asked politely, “What's the matter here.”  

We explained to him how we had found this dog in the street thinking it was a stray dog, but it had no stamp to show he was vaccinated, so we decided to send the dog here as it looked like it was in a bad condition. We also told him to check for his right leg, as it seemed as it was broken.   

“Don’t worry he said, I will check him immediately but by looking at him, he doesn’t seem in great shape. “It will need me at least half an hour to check up, as I will be doing different tests including blood tests, and vaccinations.”   

We sat there half an hour praying that this little dog would get to have a healthy life, it seemed like we waited a century. Soon after we heard loud footsteps from the stairs, hoping it was the doctor. It was the doctor, but he had left the dog downstairs.  

“What happened!” I exclaimed.  

 
“I have some bad and good news. I checked up on the dog, and he has different types of parasites infecting his body, also including flees. He has damaged skin, and missing fur. I also checked his leg, and it was detached from his body. For the dog to be healthy, he needs a lot of skin and fur treatments, and surgery to attach his leg back into the right place. And if someone pays for his expenses, they need to be able to take care of them and find him a home,” he said. 

 
We were heartbroken. We were so sad as if it had been our dog.

Mom asked in a sad voice, “But how much will that cost?”

 The doctor paused for a moment and told us it would cost a lot of money. Everyone went silent. We looked at one another with a questioned face. 

 “I will give you some time to think about it," the doctor said.   

Minutes had gone by, and my dad had insisted to my mom that we had to pay for all the expenses. My mom was overthinking a lot and discussed with my dad whether it was a good idea or not.  

“You think I have time to take care of the dog!” She explained.  

 
I was sitting there praying that we would save the dog.

Time had passed by, then my mom said in a soft tone, “Fine, fine, we have got too attached to this dog to let him like this.”   

We cheered in joy altogether. Then we went to talk to the doctor about the dog and asked him if we could help and protect the dog.   

“I'm so happy you made this decision; we couldn’t find better people than you,” the doctor said happily.   

My parents agreed to sign a contract for the dog's operation and payment. We found out that the dog's operation could be done the same day, as they had all the materials needed. Soon, I found out that the operation took only 1 hour, and from all that joy I was keeping in, I insisted my parents on waiting for our new dog.  
After a while, I fell asleep on the uncomfortable couch of the vet hospital. Though I heard some footsteps and immediately woke up.  

“MOM, MOM, it might be the dog!” I shouted. “Edon don’t panic, when the doctor comes, he will notify us.” mom said nervously.   

Until I turned my head and saw this small white fluffy dog. We were all in awe.  

“We finished up the surgery, as well washing him and treating his skin. Though some treatments need to continue for a few months” the doctor said happily.   

I decided to buy a nice bed and some toys for our new family member, as my dad carefully brought the dog and his documents in the car. I could not wait until my brother found out about this.

As soon as we entered the door, my brother came running at us and shouted, “Where have you been all day lo-” He paused for a moment, looked at us surprised and, said, “Who is this?”  

“It's our new family member," I whispered in joy. He could not believe it, he had thought we had bought a new dog, as I explained to him how it was the same dog we saw on the road.   

“What should we name him?” I asked.  

He said, “Something short and cute, what about Ru?”  

“That’s perfect!” I exclaimed.   

We were all so proud and happy of ourselves, as we helped a dog who would most likely have no more life if it wasn’t for us.