My heart wasn`t in it, though, so he kept getting skinnier. One day his cage was empty. I asked where he was, and they said, "In a box out back." When an animal died, they would put it in a box. I went out back, took Pepper out of the box, and laid him on my lap. I kept petting him and calling his name, wishing he was alive, wishing that I had done my job. The director came, put Pepper back in the box, and told me I needed to go clean a couple of new cages. When I finished, I went back to say goodbye to Pepper, and you know what I saw? The box was moving! Then out popped Pepper`s head, and he looked up at me with his big eyes. And now he`s my dog.