Bill Grimes, Effingham (IL) Daily News
January 19, 2011
GREENUP — Stew Rowles wasn’t sure if he’d ever see his dog again.
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| Stew Rowles, left, reunites with Tucker, a German wire-haired pointer, in Greenup recently. Kathy and Bob Sponsel of rural Greenup found Tucker had taken refuge in their garage. |
Rowles, a Washington, DC, resident who grew up in Sullivan, had lost Tucker — a German wire-haired pointer — while pheasant hunting near Martinsville two days before Christmas.
The retired US Bureau of Prisons employee extended his holiday visit for more than a week in a vain search for the 2-year-old pooch.
“We did everything we could think of,” Rowles said. “We put up signs, offered a reward and called radio stations.
“We also put out food in various locations, as well as clothing that he would associate with us. But none of that worked.”
What did work was Tucker’s apparent instinct for survival that led him to the garage of a rural Greenup couple.
“We saw him Wednesday (Jan. 12),” said Bob Sponsel, who lives with wife Kathy about two miles east of Greenup on the York road. “He had moved into our garage. By Friday, he’d gotten close enough for Kathy to pet him and look at his tags. Once we called him by name, he was a different dog.”
The tags included a number to call in case Tucker was lost, which he most assuredly was. The Sponsels called that number and the company contacted Rowles, who didn’t waste much time making the 12-hour drive from Washington, D.C., to be reunited with a haggard-looking Tucker.
“January 14 is a day I’m going to always remember,” Rowles said. “He’d lost a huge amount of weight and he had some cuts and cockleburrs. But right now, he doesn’t seem to have any ill effects from being out in the woods.”
Rowles said he and wife Alexandra are glad to have Tucker back home.
“We have three other dogs, but they’re all elderly,” he said. “We got Tucker because we figured our other dogs would not be with us much longer.
“He’s my wife’s favorite dog,” Rowles added. “She was pretty torn up about the whole thing, but she was sure glad to see him.”
Rowles said he was grateful Tucker found a dog-friendly home. The Sponsels’ black lab has been in the house this winter because she is expecting puppies soon.
“He picked a great couple,” Rowles said. “They kept food out for him all the time, and they had a nice place for him to stay out of the weather.”
Sponsel said the reunion was a joyous one.
“It was a real heart-jerker when the dog saw his owner,” he said. “It was an awesome scene.”
The Sponsels declined the $1,000 reward.
“We’re dog people, and besides, Tucker found us.”
Source: http://effinghamdailynews.com/local/x233964678/Owner-reunites-with-lost-dog
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