I know a story about a family from Mississippi, during the fifties. They were poor but the kids yearned for a puppy. They begged and pleaded, and finally their dad reluctantly said yes. 

 They went to the pound and there was one puppy there, not very cute, but wagged his tail and licked them into acceptance. With joy they took him home and while the novelty kept their attention they played with him. 

But before long, they lost interest and the puppy was kept in a wire kennel at the back of the house where it bordered the dusty alleyway. 

He was neglected and often a group of three kids, who used that alley as a short cut, would walk by his kennel. At first he would run to the side of the cage in great expectation of attention, but these boys, being very cruel, would taunt and tease the puppy each time they went by.

  As the months went by the puppy grew physically, but he began to cower when people came by and those three boys became more and more cruel, sometimes throwing rocks, sometimes banging on the cage but always treating him cruel. 

The puppy became more and more withdrawn and soon began to bark at strangers instead of expecting attention. He became more and more vicious, and one day, the three boys decided they would taunt him by spraying him with an ammonia solution they heard would stop the dog (the puppy had grown into a fifty pound adult dog by now,) when he charged the cage and send him howling to his corner. 

  True to form, the dog saw the boys and began to growl and bark, and when they got close, he charged the cage. They quickly fumbled their ammonia spray out and tried to spray him in the eyes, but it only enraged the dog more and he pushed his nose against a weak spot in the fence and began to plow his way out and chased the boys up a fence they jumped to for safety. 

The dog jumped up and bit the first boy in the butt, sunk his teeth in, shook his head and then let go, only to chase the second boy who was half way up the wall now, and he caught him and bit the back of the boys thigh, again, shook his head and released him, and bolted after the third boy who was at the top of the fence, but the dog jumped as high as he could and caught the third boys ankle and closed his jaws like a vice as the boy screamed and hollered. A man who happened by saw the whole thing and grabbed the dog by his collar and pulled him off the boy. 

The three boys, safe on the other side, cried out through their tears, "That is a bad dog! He is vicious!

 The man held the dog and tried to calm him. He noticed the collar was very tight, so he loosened it, and continued to stroke and pet the dog while calmly talking to him in a low affectionate voice. 

After some time, the dogs growls ceased, the hair laid down on his back, and he gained a trust in the man. The man released the dog and began to continue home, but the dog began to follow him. The man tried to discourage the dog from following him, and with some continued persistence by the man, the dog stopped. 

The next day when the man arose and went to get the morning paper, there laid the dog on his porch. Regardless of how he tried, he could never chase the dog away; so he took him in and treated him to some food, petted him affectionately, and they became friends forever. 

  That puppy was me, and that kind man was the Lord. I have never left Him nor did I forget His loving kindness to me, then, and still now. 

So, I will always try and help others find my Master, the one who rescued me.