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"I don't have to walk my dog
anymore. I walked him all at once. We went from New York to Fort Lauderdale
and back again. I told him, 'Now you're done!' "
— Steven Wright, comedian
VANCOUVER IS., BC (Canada) — A Vancouver Island dog who mysteriously
disappeared years ago reappeared just as mysteriously late last month,
much to the delight and disbelief
of his lost family. "Ewok",
a nine-year-old Shih-Tzu is now back at home with Jim and Barbara Reed
of Crofton after a seven-year-long walk, a bit slower and
greyer, "but he's still cuddly", says Barbara.
After the disappearance of the little
lap dog in 1994, the Reeds were left completely baffled. Barbara
describes, "We always thought someone had picked him up. One
day he just disappeared. No trace. He was gone. We didn't
know if he was hit by a car or what happened."
Then last month, Ewok simply wandered
back into town. The dog showed up at the Mile 44 Antiques store
and made himself at home. Albert Walsh and his uncle Bob, the
owner, were locking up for the night when the furry visitor arrived.
"About 45 minutes after we closed,
a dog walked in the back door—a
little Shih Tzu," Mr. Walsh recalls. "He looked at me,
then went into the living room and jumped up on my Uncle Bob's
knee."
The next day they approached the local
SPCA where volunteer coordinator Kim Robinson found an identifying
tattoo on Ewok's ear. She soon traced the dog back to the Reed
couple,
and Ewok went home.
"It's one of those stories you do want
people to read about so they don't give up looking for their pets,"
says Ms. Robinson.
As for the explanation of the pooch's seven
year hiatus, a few late-breaking clues may point to a theory. The National
Post reports that several days after Ewok was returned home, a
suspicious man came into
the antique shop asking about a dog.
Mr. Walsh describes, "A guy comes in the store, asking
if we had found a little dog. He even knew the dog's name. My Uncle Bob
says, 'Did you know that dog was
stolen?'
"Before [Uncle Bob] could get a
piece of paper and a pen to write down the license, the guy was spinning
gravel out our driveway."
Editor's note: Hmmm, perhaps we have
another candidate for our "Dog
Thieves Just Ain't What They Used to Be" file?
But, with all speculation aside, the strange
disappearance of little Ewok and his subsequent reappearance may have to
remain an enigma.
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So, in the spirit of Ewok's AWOL
adventure, The Scoop has prepared a special Top 8 List for future
reference. (Normally this would be a "Top 10 List", but for
the benefit of dogs who have no dewclaws and can only
count to eight, we present...)
The
Top 8 Dog Excuses for
Not Coming Home in 7 Years
- "I was out
chasing cars.
...In Italy."
- "I
was abducted by a UFO.
(Hey, it looked like a giant frisbee.)"
- "Seven years
without a B-A-T-H!"
- "I
got lost, and the dog ate my roadmap. Oh, wait... I'm the dog. Never mind."
- "I don't know,
but it's the cat's fault!!!"
- "Seven
years? How long is that? You never taught me how to tell time."
- "I
just wanted to take care of a few things before that
neutering, y'know?"
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"Mamie"
(above) is a 4-7 year old female
Chow Chow who can be adopted from the Asheville
Humane Society
(ref # A018936).
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