Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 22, 1995 TAG: 9506220077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER NOTE: Above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harry the dog, "Stay."
Cut out the heroic Lassie-like stunts. Go chew a bone.
You can stay with Freddie, that freckle-faced Southeast Roanoke kid you adopted this spring.
People from around Virginia want you to be together. They're paying your vet bills and making you legal.
A story in Saturday's paper about how the black-and-tan collie mix latched on to 14-year-old Freddie Wilson brought 30 calls from people who insisted boy and dog stay together.
Freddie's mom, Barbara Wilson, wanted to keep the pooch all along, but as a single mother with two other dogs and a bunch of kids, she couldn't afford it. So she wrote the paper about Harry's intelligence and loyalty in hopes some other kindhearted soul would take him.
Several people offered Harry a home, but only as a last resort if the Wilsons couldn't keep him.
The family's received donations of 75 pounds of dry dog food so far and about $200.
"It's a little embarrassing," Barbara Wilson said. "I'm not used to taking people's money. I'm going to cash all these checks and put it in an envelope for Harry."
An anonymous donor is working through the SPCA to pay the dog's veterinary bills.
"We have a lot of these cases where there's a great bond between dog and family," said SPCA President Frank Van Balen. "That dog wants to be with that family."
The story began in mid-May when Harry showed up in the Wilsons' yard. Fat ticks hung from his face, but he wouldn't let anybody pull them off.
The Wilsons suspected he'd been abused; he ran at the sight of cigarette lighters or toy guns.
The SPCA offered a flea-and-tick bath, but Harry got loose at the shelter. In a few hours, he was miles away - back on the Wilsons' porch.
Barbara Wilson advertised in the paper, and a Vinton man took Harry home. He got away again, and by morning was back at the Wilsons'.
Since then, he's survived tick fever and paralysis, finally had that tick treatment and, on one stormy night when the Wilsons were out, wound up on the doorstep of the Rescue Mission.
After all the high drama, Harry is getting his way. Dog and boy are united for good.
"Freddie's tickled to death," Barbara Wilson said.
There was a temporary threat to this happy tale.
A Stewartsville woman saw the dog's picture in the paper and thought he was one that ran off last fall.
She wanted him back and told Barbara Wilson that Harry would be chained.
Wilson couldn't stand the thought of Harry living out his life that way. She considered going to court if the woman tried to lay claim to Harry.
But after church Sunday, the woman's husband drove by the Wilsons' and saw Harry in the fenced back yard. He wasn't their dog after all.
Friday morning, Harry becomes truly domesticated.
He'll be neutered, get all his shots and his tags. Then he'll go home - to the Wilsons.
by CNB