Mopeder's blog: "News"

By Roselee Papandrea / Times-News March 16, 2008 - 8:17PM SWEPSONVILLE NC - The missing 3-pound Chihuahua named Copper, that has been missing from his East Main Street home since Thursday, was returned to his owners Sunday morning. Amanda Cantrell's phone rang at about 8:20 a.m. Sunday morning. The woman calling told Cantrell that she had her dog. "I didn't get her name," Cantrell said. "I didn't ask any questions. She just said, ‘We have your dog.'" Cantrell threw on some clothes and headed to the woman's home on Swepsonville Road, which is about five miles from where Cantrell lives. She was thrilled to be reunited with Copper, a chocolate Chihuahua. Copper, a 3-pound chocolate Chihuahua, had been missing since Thursday. "Honestly, we were hoping we'd see him again," Cantrell said. "It was a welcomed surprise. It goes to show that prayers are answered." Copper got out of Cantrell's house on Thursday afternoon. He followed Cantrell's 5-year-old son out the door. A neighbor told Cantrell that they saw someone in a red vehicle pick up the dog. Cantrell said the dog was wearing a collar with a heart-shaped rabies tag and a gold medallion with a phone number and address on it. Cantrell thought someone took the dog and filed a report with the Alamance County Sheriff's Department. The woman told Cantrell that the dog didn't have a tag on him when she found him. She read about the missing dog in a story that ran in Sunday's Times-News. "I know he had tags on when he left here," Cantrell said. "She said she thought he was a stray. She told us we needed to be more responsible. I said thank you and walked off." Cantrell called the sheriff's department to let deputies know that she found her dog. She was asked if she wanted to press charges. She declined. Copper's return home was great news for Cantrell's 11-year-old son, Nathan Stutts, who was spending the weekend with his father. Nathan was heartbroken after he learned that his dog was missing. "He kept calling (Saturday) to see if we found him yet," Cantrell said. "I called him (Sunday) morning and said, ‘Nathan, guess what?' I told him we had Copper and we went and picked Nathan up. He was tickled to death. We were all teary-eyed." Despite spending four days away from home, the six-month-old Copper was doing well Sunday. "He's great," Cantrell said. "He's really licked us. I think he's excited." Copper already has a new collar. On Monday, Cantrell plans to get him a new rabies tag and name tag. She's also considering having a microchip put in the pup so that if he ever gets lost again and loses his collar, he can easily be returned to his owners. ----- I have some good news to share. Nathan has his puppy back. I'm glad for him and the cute little puppy. * He kept on praying and never gave up on seeing Copper again, alive and well. * The people that took him weren't going to harm him...no decent person would. * I'll bet Nathan will take great care of Copper, having learned from this experience. * This story turned out to have a happy ending...and that's cool. :)