Twice-rescued dog vanished June 16
By Donna Boynton TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Jun 26, 2007
MILLBURY— If Amos could talk, he’d have quite the story to tell. After being taken from his owner’s car in a grocery store parking lot June 16, he was found on the Route 146 roadside in Worcester less than a week later, on Friday, by a woman who had planned to take him to the pound. Instead, she read about a Millbury’s man search for his missing dog in yesterday’s Telegram & Gazette and realized the dog she rescued might have been that man’s pet, a Boston terrier.
Minutes after contacting James M Weaver Jr, there was no doubt that the dog was indeed Amos. “I am so happy,” Mr. Weaver said yesterday afternoon, as Amos lay beside his left foot. Mr. Weaver was working in his computer room when his phone rang early yesterday morning, with the Worcester woman, Shirley Moccia, telling him she might have his dog.
She explained that she found the dog on the Route 146 roadside, near Interstate 290, Mr Weaver said, and captured the dog to prevent him from getting hurt or killed. Though the dog was not wearing any identification, he fit the description of Amos, and she invited Mr. Weaver to her home to meet the dog. Mr. Weaver wasted no time. Moments after the 7:40 a.m. phone call, he left the e-mail he was typing in mid-sentence and raced to her address.
“I took one look at him, and he took one look at me. I said, ‘Amos!’ and he was jumping up on me, and I was hugging him,” Mr. Weaver said. “There is no doubt that this is my dog.”
Mr. Weaver doesn’t know who took him or how he wound up on the side of the highway, but despite the weeklong ordeal, Amos is no worse for the wear.
“He’s suffered some trauma, but he is not in too bad shape. Whoever took him, fed him,” Mr. Weaver said. Mr. Weaver, a 76-year-old Korean War Navy veteran, would not say how much of a reward he gave to the woman, only that she was amply compensated.
Amos is only 2 years old, but he already has quite the life story, a story that is marked by both trauma and good luck. Amos was 6 months old when he was rescued from living conditions that left him malnourished and ill. He was adopted by Mr. Weaver 18 months ago, and nursed back to health. The two formed a strong bond: The dog went everywhere with Mr. Weaver, whether it was camping or running daily errands.
They were inseparable until June 16, when Mr. Weaver went to Price Chopper on Greenwood Street in Worcester and left his companion in his truck, with windows rolled down a bit and the doors unlocked, while he went inside the store to buy sausages and meatballs. When he returned, Amos was not there to greet him; instead he found only Amos’ leash, which had been detached. Mr. Weaver contacted the Worcester Police Department and began searching for Amos, plastering the Price Chopper parking lot with lost dog fliers and asking all local veterinarians to be on the lookout for Amos.
The only thing that can compare with Mr. Weaver’s joy at being reunited with his 19-pound, four-legged best friend, is the gratitude he has for all those who helped in the search that led to the recovery of Amos. “I can’t thank you all enough,” Mr. Weaver said.
Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20070626/NEWS/706260646/1116
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