Have you ever been a hero? I saved a life when I was 13. Even though it was a puppy rather than a human being, I think I became a hero then because of it.

On a normal evening I went out for a stroll with Mum in the neighbourhood. While passing a lawn, I heard some strange noise. It sounded as if an animal was weeping somewhere. Wondering what was going on, I stopped Mum and started searching for the source of the feeble whimper. I did not stop until I found a fluffy white ball hidden somewhere in a dark recess of the lawn.

What was it? My eyes fixed upon it, I suddenly made out a baby dog. I shouted to Mum that I had found a helpless puppy in the grass.

After examining the animal, Mum decided that the puppy obviously needed medical attention because it had not been weaned. It must have been left behind by its careless mother. Worried, we rushed the poor creature to the community animal clinic.

We reckoned the mother dog must be in the same community, so we asked the community admins to put up a notice appealing for the owner to come and claim the puppy.

The next day a stranger visited us. Owner of the puppy, the man brought along a gift to show his gratitude to us for rescuing his animal. The little creature was, according to the man, one of the litter their she-dog had given birth to a couple of weeks before. That afternoon, the mother dog had been basking in the warm sunshine with the puppies on the lawn.

We declined the man’s gift, but we could not have felt prouder of ourselves. I counted myself a hero for saving the puppy and thus bringing about its eventual reunion with the mother.