Just the kind of story we needed after all the negative stuff that has been in the news for the past few weeks. This is a real "pick-me-up!" I was going to post them in the order that a found them but that would ruin the surprise. The first one i found is the third article... I looked up the other two. He he... I love this little twist. I'm sure Happy knew what he was doing the whole time :-D
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Published November 18, 2007 11:41 pm - It’s not every day that a dog runs away from home to return to the veterinarian who neutered him.
But Joplin vet Steve Walstad said that’s what he found when he drove past his office on Nov. 11.
Dog forgives neutering, chooses veterinary office as home
http://www.joplinglobe.com/siteSearch/apst..._322234147.html
Photo caption: Globe/T. Rob Brown Steve Walstad, a Joplin veterinarian, hangs out with Radar, who escaped from his home to return to the vet’s office
By Melissa Dunson
mdunson*AT*joplinglobe*DOT*com
It’s not every day that a dog runs away from home to return to the veterinarian who neutered him.
But Joplin vet Steve Walstad said that’s what he found when he drove past his office on Nov. 11.
A black, mixed-breed dog named Radar was lying in front of the Animal Clinic at 710 S. New Hampshire Ave.
Walstad boarded Radar for several weeks and neutered him while the dog’s owner was out of town. When the owner, who did not want to be identified, came to pick him up on Nov. 8, Radar seemed hesitant to leave. Three days later, he jumped the fence at his home and was back at Walstad’s office.
“I opened the door of the clinic and he ran right inside, into the back and settled right into his cage like he belonged there,” Walstad said. “I gave him some food and water and a hug, and he looked as happy as he could be.”
Walstad said most dogs have a sense of home that sometimes leads them over great distances back to their owners, but he said that in 28 years of practicing animal medicine in Joplin, he’s never heard of a dog returning to the vet’s office.
Radar lived a mile from the Animal Clinic and had never been to Walstad’s office by foot, but he managed to find his way there and waited most of the day for someone to let him into the building.
Walstad said Radar’s owner had been looking for a new home for the dog and offered to let the vet keep him.
Walstad, whose schnauzer, Annie, had just died, decided it would be nice to have some canine company around the office and agreed to let Radar stay. Walstad and his staff are preparing to build Radar a cage in the back of the clinic where he can sleep at night. During the day, he can wander around the office or play with the other dogs in the yard.
“We’re going to call him ours now,” Walstad said.
To justify his position as the veterinary office dog, Radar will be available to donate blood for the rare but serious case when one his patients needs a transfusion, Walstad said.
Walstad and his staff find the situation strange but endearing. They agree there was always something special about Radar.
“We had a ball with (Radar),” said Felicia Bass, a veterinary technician at Walstad’s office. “He loves to play with us in the yard.”
Radar looks like he couldn’t be happier.
“Why did he pick us? Why did he come back here?” Walstad asked. “I don’t know. I guess he likes us. He’s cool like that. He digs this place.”
‘He belongs here’
Janelle Rawlings, a veterinary technician at Steve Walstad’s office, said most of the animals the clinic treats like the staff. She thinks Radar just didn’t want to give up all the attention.
“It’s so unusual, but I guess he just likes it here,” she said. “He thinks he belongs here with us.”
Associated Press content © 2007. All rights reserved.
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Published November 19, 2007 10:26 pm - Brothers Codey and Chase Bowman had more than cookies waiting for them Monday afternoon when they stepped off the Diamond school bus.
Their dog, Happy, was back — after seven months of adventure, two intermediate homes and a new name.
Happy, also known as Radar, is the same dog who ran away from another Joplin household last week to live at veterinarian Steve Walstad’s Joplin office, where ironically the pooch was neutered last month.
Happy home for holidays
http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/loc...323222645.html
Photo Caption: Brothers Codey and Chase Bowman had more than cookies waiting for them Monday afternoon when they stepped off the Diamond school bus. Their dog, Happy, was back — after seven months of adventure, two intermediate homes and a new name. Happy, also known as Radar, is the same dog who ran away from another Joplin household last week to live at veterinarian Steve Walstad’s Joplin office, where ironically the pooch was neutered last month.
By Melissa Dunson
mdunson*AT*joplinglobe*DOT*com
Brothers Codey and Chase Bowman had more than cookies waiting for them Monday afternoon when they stepped off the Diamond school bus.
Their dog, Happy, was back — after seven months of adventure, two intermediate homes and a new name.
Happy, also known as Radar, is the same dog who ran away from another Joplin household last week to live at veterinarian Steve Walstad’s Joplin office, where ironically the pooch was neutered last month.
Misty Bowman, mother of 14-year-old Codey and 9-year-old Chase, saw Happy’s picture Monday in the Globe in connection with a story about Walstad deciding to keep the dog that he called Radar as his office pet.
“I was yelling at my husband, saying, ‘Tell me I’m crazy. Tell me that’s not Happy,’” Bowman said of her reaction to reading Monday’s Globe. “As soon as I saw the picture of him standing, I knew it was him.”
The Bowmans say they took Happy home from a friend’s house when he was 8 weeks old. He stood out to Misty Bowman because he was friendly and not at all aggressive.
“He was so cute and didn’t act like the other puppies,” she said. “We took him because he was so mellow.
“He’s not very excitable, but he does like to play. He doesn’t bark, and I’ve even seen other dogs try to get in a fight with him and he would just lay down. He’s just not a fighter, and he’s been like that his entire life.”
Misty’s husband, Rob, was especially attached to the dog and named him Happy “because he always looks like he’s smiling.”
After 2 1/2 years as the family pet, Happy went missing seven months ago from the Bowmans’ 160-acre farm near Diamond. Misty Bowman said the family drove all over the area, rode four-wheelers around the property, put up ads and went door-to-door asking for information on their dog.
“Eventually we came to the assumption that he was gone,” she said. “We thought he got run over.”
But that was not the case. Happy had been taken in. The family that had given the dog a home named him Radar for his ability to find his way around.
That ability was borne out earlier this month when Radar showed back up a Walstad’s office, where he had been boarded for several weeks, and neutered, while his adopted family was out of town.
The family was considering trying to find another home for the dog anyway, so Walstad decided to keep him as an office pet.
“He was gone for seven months, and usually if you don’t find the dog in a couple of weeks, they’re just gone,” Misty Bowman said Monday. “What are the chances he’d turn up in the middle of Joplin, and in the newspaper?”
Bowman called Walstad’s office Monday and explained the situation, insisting that her children didn’t know that Happy was still alive and that Walstad could keep him if he wanted. But Walstad said he couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out, and he cheerfully turned over the dog to his rightful owners.
“We’re happy for him,” Walstad said of Happy. “The dog was so excited to see his owners, and I could not bear the thought of the kids not having their dog. It’s just such a happy ending.”
Happy went home Monday afternoon, and Misty Bowman said he started to get excited in the car as they got close to the house.
“He knew where he was at,” she said.
Rob Bowman was waiting at home for Happy when he arrived, and the children stepped off the bus shortly after that, completely surprised when they saw Happy’s grinning face.
“I feel pretty good about this,” Codey said. “We missed him, and he feels pretty good to be back home. He’s happy.”
Mixed breed
Happy is half Welsh corgi and half blue heeler.
Associated Press content © 2007. All rights reserved.
--------------------------------
Dog back home after adventure, neutering
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_...JpJy0jipn4uQE4F
DIAMOND, Mo. - The Bowman family has its pooch back. Their dog Happy is back after seven months of adventure, an operation, two intermediate homes and a new name.
Happy, also known as Radar, is the same dog who ran away from a different Joplin household last week to live at veterinarian Steve Walstad's Joplin office, where he was neutered last month.
Misty Bowman, mother of Codey, 14, and Chase, 9, saw Happy's picture Monday in the Joplin Globe with a story about Walstad deciding to keep the dog that he called Radar.
"I was yelling at my husband, saying, `Tell me I'm crazy, tell me that's not Happy,'" Misty said of her reaction reading the newspaper.
The Bowmans say they took the dog they called Happy home from a friend's house when he was 8 weeks old. He stood out to Misty because he was so friendly and not at all aggressive.
Misty's husband, Rob, was especially attached to the dog and named him Happy "because he always looks like he's smiling."
After 2 1/2 years as their family pet, Happy went missing from the Bowmans' 160-acre farm in Diamond seven months ago. Misty said the family drove all over the area, rode four-wheelers around the property, put up lost-dog ads, and went door-to-door asking for information on their pet.
"Eventually we came to the assumption that he was gone, we thought he got run over," Misty said.
But that was not the case. He had been taken in by a family that named Radar for his ability to find his way around.
That talent showed up earlier this month when he came back to Walstad's office, where he had been boarded for several weeks — and neutered — while his adoptive family was out of town.
The family was considering trying to find another home for him anyway, so Walstad decided to keep him as an office pet.
"He was gone for seven months and usually if you don't find the dog in a couple weeks, they're just gone," Misty Bowman said Monday. "What are the chances he'd turn up in the middle of Joplin, and in the newspaper?"
Bowman called Walstad's office Monday and explained the situation, insisting her children didn't know that Happy was still alive and that Walstad could keep him if he wanted. But Walstad said he couldn't be happier with the way things turned out and cheerfully turned over the dog to its rightful owners.
Happy went home Monday afternoon, and Misty Bowman said he started to get excited in the car as they got close to the house.
"He knew where he was at," she said.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy
I just can't help but to smile thinking about it. (And being able to put a smile on others' faces.)
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