By Raymond Legendre, Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 11:59 a.m.
THIBODAUX — When Jeremy Poche returns from Marine Corps boot camp, his cocker spaniel, Sunshine, will race to the door to greet him, just like always.
Sunshine disappeared in February from the home of a friend who was caring for her.
Weeks of searching turned up no sign of the cocker, until Thibodaux dog groomer Jenny Breaux saw a newspaper story about the missing dog and a photo in the newspaper.
Breaux, owner of Pampered Pets in the St. Charles community, called the Poche family and told them a black cocker brought in for a haircut bore a strong resemblance to the photo of Sunshine in the newspaper.
Sunshine’s return to her human family’s home in Lutcher inspired a rush of emotions, said Pam Poche.
“Even my housekeeper was crying when she came in,” Pam Poche mother said. “Everybody assumed she had gotten killed. When everybody saw her, everyone was ecstatic. She’s back with us. We’re whole again.”
The dog appeared well-kept, Poche said, except for a wound on the back — apparently from a BB — and the ear infection.
Sunshine’s odyssey began when Jeremy left for boot camp and his brother Jonathan, a pre-med major at Nicholls State University, agreed to take her in.
But Jonathan learned he could not keep the dog in his dorm and gave her to a friend to watch. The dog disappeared from the friend’s home.
As he searched for Sunshine Jonathan harbored the dread of having to tell his brother she was gone.
The family said nothing of the dog’s disappearance to the Marine, not wishing him to have distractions at boot camp.
Sunshine was alive and well, however, having somehow stumbled into the life of Rosie Wilford, a caregiver to Jenny Breaux’s mother.
When Wilford took the dog to Breaux, the groomer saw the resemblance to the missing dog written about in the newspaper, and she called the frantic family.
Just how Wilford came by the dog was never quite clear. Although initially reluctant, Wilford agreed to return Sunshine to the Poches in exchange for a small cash reward. She could not be reached for comment this weekend.
“Although it was a very hard decision, because she had come to love the dog and care for the dog,” Breaux said, “I encouraged her wholeheartedly to return the dog to the owner for several reasons.”
Source: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090323/ARTICLES/903239961?p=2&tc=pg
Single page version: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090323/ARTICLES/903239961?p=all&tc=pgall
No comments:
Post a Comment