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By DAVID KERESTER Tribune Chronicle
NEWTON TOWNSHIP - Two young boys split a $500 reward
Tuesday after rescuing a very frightened lost dog that had
managed to elude both animal experts and rescuers since its
disappearance four days earlier. The two best friends said
it was no easy task.
Daniel Clouston, 12, and Eddie Mack, 9, first learned of
the missing dog and reward after seeing fliers posted Saturday
throughout Blue Water Manor Mobile Home Park, where they both
live.
Clouston pulled down one of the fliers with a picture of
the missing dog, a 2-year-old, white fuzzy-faced bichon frise
named Tommy.
The dog in the photo looked just like the little dog they
had seen running frantically from two much larger dogs the
night before.
''We have to find it!'' Clouston said.
''We can do this!'' Mack agreed.
The dog had escaped the fenced-in back yard of resident
Harriette Grimes, a temporary caregiver selected for Tommy by
Small Paws Rescue of Tulsa, Okla.
The nonprofit organization, devoted to the care of
mistreated bichon frise purebreds and mixes, had recently
purchased Tommy from a Missouri breeder high on its list of
abusive puppy mill operations, according to Small Paws
executive director Robin Pressnall.
Grimes said capturing Tommy would be difficult due to a
history of abuse and neglect it suffered at the hands of its
former owners.
''The few days he was here, I couldn't put a hand on him.
He is so afraid of people,'' she said.
The two boys had plenty of competition in the search.
Dozens of children and several adults in the trailer park
spent much of the weekend and Monday combing the mobile home
park from top to bottom.
While there were several sightings, Tommy proved to be an
artful dodger. By Tuesday morning, as the temperature dropped,
nearly all had given up the search, Mack said.
Volunteers from three animal welfare organizations arrived
Tuesday to bolster the search, including Pressnall, who flew
in from Tulsa.
Animal Welfare League officer Ken Ford loaned a specially
equipped safe-trap to capture Tommy, but to no avail. With the
experts and volunteers huddled near the center of the park
discussing strategy, Clouston had an idea.
Tracing an area where searchers last saw the dog, Clouston
and Mack followed a trail of small paw prints through a nearby
woods to a large home outside the trailer park.
There, near a garage, stood Tommy. The chase was on.
''We chased him probably half a mile. He was fast!''
Clouston said.
With dogged determination, the boys finally cornered Tommy
at the edge of a muddy duck pond. Growling and desperate to
get away, the small dog plunged into the pond, paddling for
the other side.
''I didn't have much choice at that point,'' said Clouston.
While Mack straddled the pond's edge steadying his friend
with an outstretched arm, Clouston waded in the ice-cold
water, first past his knees then up to his waist until with a
lunge, he plucked the fearful and shivering pet from the
water.
Cold and exhausted, the boys returned to the team of
searchers to a chorus of joyous cheers.
''It's a miracle,'' said Pressnall who quickly rewarded
both boys with equal shares of the $500 reward.
Soon, all were whisked off to the mobile home park office
where the warming effects of blankets, an electric heater and
a blow drier managed to blow a circuit breaker.
Clouston and Mack say they are not sure what they will do
with their money.
''I've never had $250 to spend before,'' said Clouston.
''Me either,'' said Mack with a big smile.
The reward is just part of the investment Small Paws Rescue
has made on behalf of the young dog. His purchase in Missouri
cost $800, while the veterinary care amounted to $400 or more,
Pressnall said.
Tommy will go to a new foster home in Canton, since Grimes'
yard did not seem to hold him, Pressnall said.
''He'll be adopted by a caring family after a two- or
three-month adjustment period in the foster home,'' Pressnall
said.
Grimes said she is relieved Tommy was found, and with five
other dogs to care for - including three in current foster
care through other organizations - she said she still has
plenty of pets to love.
For more information on Small Paws Rescue, Inc. and similar
organizations devoted to other dog breeds, visit the Web site,
www.smallpawsrescue.org.
dkerester@tribune-chronicle.com
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