I was walking up the hill to the ruins of St Nicoară church with my dog Caramela. I was supposed to meet my colleagues at the ruins at 3pm, and it was 3.30pm. I was almost there, but Caramela kept pulling me back because she had seen other puppies and wanted to play with them.

When we got to the ruins no one was there. I looked around for a while, then gave up and sat down disappointed when my mates jumped out of the bushes, scaring me and Caramela. I let go of the leash and as soon as she felt free, Caramela ran off. But I didn’t notice until I had recovered from my fright. We started looking for her and calling her name, but to no avail. We searched for three hours, but as the last bus home was at 7pm and I needed half an hour to get to the bus stop, I gave up and headed home.

When I got to the bus stop - panting because I’d been running - I realised I wasn’t alone. Caramela was there, in a cage, next to an old lady. I asked the woman if this was her puppy and she said yes, looking at me suspiciously. When she heard my voice, Caramela lifted her head and started wagging her tail happily. The old woman realised I was the owner and freaked out, but she quickly recovered, thinking I was a slow-witted child who hadn’t recognised Caramela. She asked me if I wanted to buy the puppy. I told her that I did, but that she should come home with me so that I could pay the full price for the dog. I pretended to call home, but instead called the police, gave them my address and told them to meet me there. The old lady got on the bus with me. On the way I kept praying for the police to show up.

They didn’t because they thought it was a joke. But I had a backup plan. I live in the countryside. I got to the gate and told the old lady to wait. I went into the house and told my parents what had happened, and then about my plan. Since my parents care about Caramela - not as much as I do, but quite a lot - they gave me their permission.

We have seven dogs: three harmless, one that doesn’t hang around the house much, and Caramela’s parents, two Mioritic Romanian Shepherds that are as tall as a man when they stand on their hind legs. I went to the gate, where the old woman was waiting, and welcomed her into the courtyard. I called my shepherds, one to my left, one to my right, and told the old woman that if she didn’t give me back my dog, I’d set Caramela’s parents on her. The old woman thought I was bluffing and started threatening me, but the dogs, when they saw that their pup was in a cage, they started showing their fangs. Then I pulled out a piece of raw meat, which I always carry with me in my backpack, and threw it in the air. The two dogs caught it, tore it apart and ate it. The old woman screamed and ran away, I don’t know where, because I never heard from her again. As for Caramela, she grew up and learned to bark and defend herself.