Shengliver’s Note: The Chinese teen writer Yangming had an extraordinary canine pal.

When I was 12 years old, I was transferred to a new junior high school, where I was a complete stranger. I had no friends in the new environs, also because I am a taciturn preteen in nature. My only friend then was my pet dog, Black.

One day, I was walking the dog with my mother. We passed by a park and a school before we stopped by at a street market, where we needed to get some necessities. Between the rows of stalls, there were such hordes of shoppers at the time that several guys even bumped into me. All of a sudden, my dog Black started to bark. Woof! Woof! While baying fiercely, he ran up to a man in front and seized him by the trouser leg.

“Oh no, Black!” I yelled. “What are you doing? Stop!” I was very much afraid that Black might hurt the bloke.

Just at this moment, I saw my mobile phone in this guy’s hand. Right away, I delved into my pocket, but my device was no longer there. It turned out that the guy I worried Black was harming was a pickpocket. He had picked my phone. Oblivious as I was of it, Black had witnessed everything.

So much paralysed was the fellow that I had no trouble grabbing my phone back.

Thanks to Black, not only did I retrieve my dear phone but also became kind of a celebrity around the new neighbourhood. More and more schoolmates got to know me through my smart loyal animal buddy. Therefore, I made lots of friends.

Loneliness became a thing of the past. The credit, of course, belonged to my pet dog Black.