The following story is a finalist in the Pawsitively Picture Perfect photo contest. The top three finishers will receive $500 in cash, as well as $2,000 in cash and supplies for their favorite shelter. Voting runs through June 1. To read more stories and cast your vote, click here!

Kipper was a stray I'd run into while walking my other two dogs here in Peachtree City. This town is unique because it has over 90 miles of golf cart paths. It was a cold winter in January, and many people were trying to bring Kipper in from the cold.

PHOTO: CATHERINE HOPPE

He would play with their dogs, they would feed him and he would go on his way. One day, I saw him running past my house chasing a deer, and he saw me with my daughter, who was 3 at the time. He stopped and whined.

I managed to keep him in my front yard all day, trying to coax him into the house. He was not having any of it. My vet said if I could get him somewhere inside a fence, I could give him a pill to calm him down and then pick him up. I gave him dinner with the pill and he took off. I was heartbroken and scared his blood pressure would drop and he would die overnight. I went to bed in tears.

PHOTO: CATHERINE HOPPE

The next day, I called the local shelter, and he'd been caught in a trap in the next neighborhood over when he went to see a female dog that wasn’t spayed. His guard must have been down enough to crawl in and get the food. I visited the shelter the same day, and they had him in the back with the unadoptable dogs because he tried to bite the shelter worker when they were pulling him out of the cage. I knew this little guy needed someone to understand him and give him a chance.

One week after the stray hold was over, I took a trainer to do a temperament test on him. He said he was fine and the only thing I might have to deal with was him running again... which he did two other times. Once, he got spooked but my mom managed to get him back when I was at work. The second time, he was chasing a deer, and when he jumped over the fence, he scraped his belly a bit and then never did it again. I had to potty train him and teach him to walk on the leash because he was so skittish.

PHOTO: CATHERINE HOPPE

I met many new friends who helped me along the way while trying to catch Kipper, as well as people who had named him while he was still out on his own that cold wintery January. They were all happy he found a home. Everyone had been calling the shelter to help catch him. Kipper has been a wonderful addition to our family for what will be 16 years now and counting. He brought me together with caring people in our community to help rescue him.

This story was submitted by Catherine Hoppe in support of Hounds in Pounds, Inc. To read other stories from the Pawsitively Picture Perfect photo contest, and to cast your vote for your favorite, click here!