We thought we had lost Sooty tonight. We went for a walk on dusk at the vacant land across from our house near the tennis courts.

On the way back, Sooty ran off and disappeared. The light was fading and she’s a black fur ball, so we had no hope of spotting her.

We called out and searched along the road, which at least had some light, to no avail.

I went to fetch a torch from home. When we got there, Sooty was already inside. She had crossed the road by herself, found our house in the dark, and scratched on the door to be let in.

That’s a pretty good effort from a five-month-old puppy.