Man reunited with stolen dog

2006-11-22 09:27

Omaha, Nebraska - A three-week search for the companion dog of a man battling depression has ended with a happy reunion in Wyoming, more than 1 100km from the spot where the pet was stolen.

Melody, a 12-year-old border collie mix, was found huddled under a pickup in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Bliss Green of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, had been e-mailing shelters around the country since losing his faithful companion on November 3.

Melody was inside Green's car when the vehicle was stolen at a York, Nebraska, petrol station.

Green, 75, adopted the dog from a shelter 11 years ago, after going to a hospital because of suicidal impulses. A nurse practitioner wrote Green a prescription for Melody in 2003, allowing him to keep her with him at all times.

"If she was with me and knew I was upset about something, her head would come on my lap," Green said. "I haven't been depressed since I've had her."

Car thief arrested

York police said they tracked a cell phone in Green's car as it was used through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Idaho and Oregon. It led them to the car and a suspect who was arrested in Oregon, Green said.

A Wyoming couple found the dog and fed her for a week, thinking she belonged to someone in the neighbourhood, authorities said.

Investigators connected the pet to Green after some of Green's belongings from the car were found in the area.

Green was heading to Dayton to thank the couple. But first he was on his way to the grocery store to find Melody's favourite foods.

"It's my duty to feed some things to her to help her settle down - chicken livers being one of them," Green said.

- AP