Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501090046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They call him Duke. A small white dog, with black markings like those of a cow.
Many motorists have seen him by the side, or in the middle, of Orange Avenue just up from the intersection at Gus Nicks Boulevard - looking left, then right, before hightailing across.
For two years, Duke has been roaming near the East Coast Oil convenience store and gas station on Orange Avenue Northeast. He's become a neighborhood fixture, a pal to East Coast employees and nearby residents, who ply him with hot dogs and trays of spaghetti.
Dozens have wanted to give Duke a home. But Duke apparently prefers life on the street. No one has been able to catch him.
He has eluded animal-control officers for the past year.
"They can't catch him," said Andrea Reedy, East Coast's assistant manager. "If he sees an animal-control or police car, he's gone."
Duke can sense when people are trying to infringe on his freedom, Reedy claims. Some East Coast customers, after pumping and paying for gas, will go over to the pay phone and call the Roanoke Valley SPCA, Reedy said.
Soon as they do, "Duke will disappear," she said.
Customers ask if they can take Duke home. Only if they can catch him, Reedy and other East Coast employees tell them. And good luck with that, they add.
"We've tried to catch him ourselves but we can't," said Becky Carter, a cashier. "I'd take him home in a heartbeat."
Employees can't get near him. The closest he's come to them is the step just outside the store entrance. If employees approach him, he'll retreat to the far side of the parking lot, Carter said.
Al Alexander, executive director of the SPCA shelter, said he and other SPCA employees have tried to nab the dog themselves, once charging up a hill after Duke with a nice cut of beef.
"This kid don't even like steak," Alexander said.
Only hot dogs, it seems.
East Coast employees set out a few for Duke on the parking lot every afternoon and evening. He takes them across the street, up to a hill. Then he buries them.
Duke has been hit by a passing vehicle once, about 18 months ago, Reedy said. He jumped up as soon as someone approached to help him, then retreated to the woods to heal. He reappeared after two weeks.
East Coast will not allow animal-control officers to set a trap - baited with food - on its property. The employees fear that if caught, Duke would be put to sleep, despite assurances to the contrary from the SPCA and animal-control officers.
"Most people assume that once we apprehend the dog, it's brought to the city animal shelter or SPCA and euthanized," said Officer M.W. Quesenberry, animal-control supervisor for Roanoke. "But that's not true."
That East Coast won't permit a trap on its property "hinders our chances of being able to apprehend the animal," Quesenberry said. "And anytime an animal is being fed in a location and food is readily available, a trap might not work. An animal obviously has to be very hungry for the trap to be effective."
Quesenberry suspects that the dog was dropped off after hours at the nearby SPCA office, as are many animals, and made his way up to East Coast.
Animals "generally stay fairly close to where they're dropped off for some period of time, particularly if they find a food supply," he said.
The dog may have been abused, based on his behavior, Alexander said.
"He feels betrayed. He's learned to fend for himself," he said. "Animals just know some things happen to them and they react instinctively."
Though unapproachable now, Duke could make someone a nice pet, Alexander said.
"He seems friendly even though he doesn't trust people," Alexander said. "He's not a bad dog running around biting everybody. It's very probable that he could be rehabilitated.
"But he's smart. He ain't about to be caught."
by CNB