This year, students at Cecyte Nuevo León, a junior high school in Mexico, have been enjoying the company of a new friend. Every day, without fail, a friendly local dog has been visiting the campus to hang out with them during their breaks.
“When the recess bell rings, he comes running to play with the students,” Lydia Sanchez, principal of the school, wrote in a post.
But while the students adore the dog’s company, his favorite form of play doesn’t come without a price.
The dog, who is believed to have a family living near the school, enjoys nothing more than chasing and catching soccer balls students kick for him.
Unfortunately, he has a tendency to go a little overboard — popping just about every ball he has the chance to interact with. Even deflated, they’re still fine toys for the pup, however.
“We can’t even count the number of balls he’s popped,” Principal Sanchez told The Dodo.
Most of the time, this isn’t much of a problem for the students. But the other day, it was.
Last week, students at the school realized that they had just one non-destroyed ball remaining for them to kick around. So, they closed the gate to the school’s playground to keep the ball-popping dog out until a new stockpile of balls could be procured.
Arriving to see the closed gate, and perhaps realizing why, the dog left the school grounds, dejected. Later, he returned with a peace offering of sorts — a way of saying sorry.
He brought his own ball to play with, pre-deflated though it was.
“Seeing him come back with his ball to play filled me with emotion,” Sanchez said. “He is extremely intelligent.”
Fortunately, the dog’s exile from the school didn’t last for long.
The school’s ball supply has since been renewed — a worthy expense to keep everyone happy, the dog and students alike.
Now, all is right again at the junior high school. And if Sanchez has her way, the dog will never again be banished on account of popping balls.
“He’ll always be welcome here,” she said.