Rocky Runs Away: Utah Dog found in Texas
ESL Reading: graded reading materials for English
language learners
Rocky Runs Away
Dog goes
for a very long walk
Before You
Read
One evening Becky is
taking her dog, Rocky, for a walk.
Suddenly Rocky sees a cat. He races off down the road.
'Rocky! Come back!'
Rocky doesn’t hear Becky’s call. Or perhaps
he doesn’t want to hear. Cat and dog disappear
around a corner.
Where is Rocky?
Becky spends the rest of
the evening looking for Rocky. Eventually she returns
home without him.
"He can't go far," she tells herself. "And he knows his
way back."
The next morning Becky puts up notices around her
neighborhood in Ogden, Utah. She waits by her phone.
Nobody responds.
And when after a month Rocky has still not returned.
Becky fears the worst.
A Phone Call
Then she receives a phone
call. Great news! A woman has found Rocky.
"Your number was on his identity tag," the lady tells
Becky.
"That's wonderful," says Becky. "Where are you?"
"San Diego," says the woman. ‘But you don’t
live in California, do you?’
Becky nearly drops the phone. ‘No, I’m in
Utah,’ she says.
Ogden is several hundred miles from San Diego. How did
Rocky get there?
It’s a mystery but Becky is just happy that Rocky
is safe. She arranges to collect her dog and bring him
home.
An hour later the phone rings again. "I can't find
Rocky," says the woman. "He's escaped from my house."
Another Call
So Rocky is missing again.
A month later Becky receives another call. Rocky has
been found again. This time her dog is even further
away. He’s traveled east to El Paso, Texas
Becky now needs to travel 1,500 miles to collect her
dog. And she’s taking her lead with her!