Monday, July 17, 2000
So long, friend, and happy tails
By Dave Caudill
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The story of Mook the long-haired, shepherd-like dog has a mostly happy ending.
I wrote about Mook in this space on July 3. My fiancee found him in dire straits along Columbia Parkway last winter. He had not been hit, but probably would have been if she hadn't corralled him into her car.
That began a six-month ordeal to find a real home for the dog.
After the usual methods to locate the owner and then two failed giveaways, I decided to write about Mook, suspecting it would stir interest.
It did.
To cut to the chase, or in this little saga, the rescue: Mook has returned to his original owner, who called the afternoon of the day the column appeared. But before I heard from him, I heard from a handful of interested “dog people,” and calls and notes trickled in for several days.
The most touching conversation I had was with William Elfers of Reading. He didn't want to take Mook (not the dog's original name, of course), he wanted to tell me his own dog story. While he was in high school during World War II, Mr. Elfers owned a young German shepherd named Buck. Three of Mr. Elfers' brothers were drafted, and the Army wanted his dog, too.
Mr. Elfers volunteered the dog, and the Army used Buck for three years. Mr. Elfers said when Buck was returned to him, it was one of the finest days of his life. They lived together happily until the dog passed on several years later.
Other callers expressed interest in Mook, but it was clear they weren't right for him. He's a rambunctious, 2-year-old, energetic animal and needed an owner used to big dogs.
A promising call came first thing in the morning of July 3 from Debbe Weissbuch of Montgomery, owner of Happy Tails Dog Training. She said she had two “clients” interested in a dog like Mook and wanted to do “temperament testing” before placing him.
I took heart and assured myself Mook's temperament would pass with flying, perhaps leaping, colors. Both the interested parties Ms. Weissbuch suggested sounded like people who could provide a good home for Mook. He needed to be, ideally, with a family that had another dog. He loves to be around other dogs, and he loves people.
But temperament testing wouldn't be necessary for Mook. Later that day a gentleman called who said he was “98 percent sure” I had his dog. He lived not too far north of Columbia Parkway and described Mook accurately. We arranged to meet.
Mr. K, we'll call him, had gotten Mook at the Hamilton County SPCA shelter when Mook was about a year old. He had provided the dog a good home, maybe too good.
Mook had a big, fenced-in yard and spent a lot of time outside. He had gotten over the fence a couple of times, but Mr. K had found him. Eventually, Mook dug under the fence and that was the last time Mr. K saw or heard of the dog, until he read about him in the newspaper.
A couple of days after the column ran, Mr. K and I met. He drove up toward Mook and me in a Toyota. Mook took no interest until Mr. K used the dog's original name, Tiger. Mook knew it and bounded up to the car's window and licked Mr. K's face. Clearly, they had known each other, and both were excited to be reunited.
Mr. K and I chatted for a while, and I resisted offering advice on how to keep Mook from getting away again. I had a feeling it wasn't necessary. I noted that while in my possession, Mook got tags and lost a certain anatomical characteristic that contributes to sad dog tales. Mr. K was OK with that.
He and the dog pulled away in the Toyota, and Mook looked out the rear window at me with his head cocked, as if to ask why I wasn't coming along.
Goodbye Mook. And good luck. Stay put this time.
Dave Caudill is The Enquirer's Features copy desk chief. He has a dog of his own and really isn't looking for another one.
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