Grieving dog drawn to savior's grave

[The Straight Story]

Grieving dog drawn to savior's grave

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Since her best friend's death, Zelda has taken to wandering.

Neighbors spot the one-eyed, rust-colored dog roaming the farm roads near her home, heading in the direction of the cemetery.

Animal control officers say that's where the dog was found recently, roving the grounds of a brick church on Bremen Highway, yards from her owner's grave.

"She's without her boy," said mom Marci Reed. "She just sniffs all over, looking for her boy."

Zelda and her owner, Joshua Reed, 15, had been inseparable ever since Joshua rescued the dog three years earlier, when she was hit by a car.

...
It had been nightfall when the family drove past the dog lying in the road. Joshua "jumped out of the moving van," Marci Reed recalled. "He yelled, 'Stop! We have to get the dog!' "

The teen brought the bleeding animal into the van, wrapping the dog in his jacket.

The child stayed up all night talking to the dog, his mother remembered with tears in her eyes. "He kept saying, 'I love you. I love you. You'll be all right. I'll take care of you.' "





http://www.indystar.com/article/20101127/LOCAL/11270355/1001/SPORTS03/?odyssey=nav|head

[Myrina]

1. Dogs are better than people, in most cases.

O8)

[Tsiyu]

10. I guess that's why we let so many people sleep on the streets n/t

[Myrina]

11. ?

Sorry, non sequiturs aren't my specialty. :freak:

[Frisbee]

19. So are ...

cockroaches, rats and of course, cats!

[lukasahero]

38. I don't know - sounds like 'her boy' was pretty damn special, too

Usually I prefer dogs to people but this one boy, now gone at the tender age of 15, seems to warrant kinder treatment from us.

[Myrina]

41. agreed, thus my 'in most cases' disclaimer ...

n/t

[Kadie]

2. .

I'm going to go have a good cry now.

Take care sweet Zelda.

[angstlessk]

3. real tear jerker ya got there n/t

[xchrom]

4. Oh Zelda - you didn't deserve that.

Sorry baby.

[virgogal]

5. Another Greyfriars' Bobby.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. but...but..but..She's only a dog..Dogs do not have feelings....emotions....

How is it possible that there are those out there that can still believe that??

:cry:

[Jamastiene]

18. That's the one place where scientists routinely get it wrong.

They are right on so much else, but they always either say animals do not have emotions, or they try to measure the emotions of animals with gadgets, meters, and gauges, as if. Of course, the gadgets, meters, and gauges do not measure emotions, so the still say animals have no feelings. It kills me how they can get that one thing wrong like that.

Non scientists are no better at times. I can't stand it when people say animals don't have emotions. I know they do.

:cry:

[Chulanowa]

20. Which scientists are these?

Graduates of Strawmann U?

[Anakin Skywalker]

24. Scientists Can Sometimes Be Cold-Hearted Scumbags, Much Like

the religious nuts who claim that animals are only here to be used by humans. Morons!

[Jamastiene]

54. Tell me about it.

Even greats like Jane Goodall had to deal with a bunch of critics in the scientific community simply because she acknowledged the chimps and great apes had emotions.

Of course, there are more scientists who are able to figure it out nowadays, but for the longest time, the scientists who acknowledged that animals had emotions (or even that animals felt pain) were admonished as unscientific heretics, practically.

[cpwm17]

30. Not true

Scientists have studied animals and their emotions. Years ago I read a book (The Dragons of Eden) that Carl Sagan wrote on the subject.

Others mammals have the same brain anatomy as humans which produce the same basic emotions.

[Marr]

37. Huh? I have never heard any biologist or other scientist say animals have no emotions.

In fact, I've read research describing the apparent similarities in our emotional responses.

[Jamastiene]

53. Lucky you. I wish I had been so fortunate.

At the community college I went to, Spanish classes were canceled and I had to take Psychology 101 as one of my electives. I wish I had not had that experience. Not too far into the class, I turned the page in the textbook and got to see a picture of a dog in a metal cage being fried in a scientific experiment. Lovely.

Ever hear of Pavlov? Or Descartes? Or Skinner? Watson?

Most scientists refused to acknowledge emotions in animals for hundreds of years. It is only recently that some scientists have begun to accept that animals have emotions.

Research what Pavlov, Skinner, and Descartes had to say or simply read an article about scientists and animal emotions and it will always mention that there is not a scientific consensus as to whether animals have emotions. Scientists still have heated debates on this very topic. Many scientists argue that animals merely have a conditioned response to stimuli, not actual emotions.

It is only in recent years that scientists have started to even admit that animals can feel pain. Read about the history of animal testing to learn more about that. Was it really necessary for scientists to sew a cat's eyelids shut to learn about the effects of blindness? Really?

Even Jane Goodall had a slew of scientific critics who claimed she was anthropomorphizing while she studied the chimps and great apes.

It is a fact that scientists spent hundreds of years dating at least as far back as Descartes refusing to acknowledge animals have emotions.

I've given you enough here to get you started on a little research to open your eyes to the truth about this topic.

Hint: If you happen to land on the wiki page for Pavlov and classical conditioning, be warned, there is a picture there of a dog with a surgical implant that doesn't look like it feels all that great. Feel lucky though. At least you didn't get a picture of a dog being fried sprung on you simply for turning the page in a psychology text book...This was a text book that claimed homosexuality was a mental disease as well, might I add. This class happened in 2005, btw....not that long ago.

[BrklynLiberal]

57. There is still too much "animal testing" being used in many fields to believe that

scientists as a whole believe that animals have emotions and feelings. How could they do any of those experiments if they believed that the animals had emotional responses to their situations?
And they justify it all by saying it is all for the "good of mankind"..as if every other creature on this planet was put here merely to serve us. :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Jamastiene]

62. Yes, there is still entirely too much of that going on

and yes, it is truly sick. I wish there were more scientists like Jane Goodall, who spoke out and said animal testing was "unacceptable." I agree with her. I've seen too much and heard about too much incredibly stupid stuff done to animals in the name of science that just churns my stomach.

I was in a doctor's office when I saw that about the cat(including a picture I wish I could erase from my memory) and the study about blindness. With all that intelligence, it looks like those scientists could have just asked a blind person what the effects of blindness were. They wouldn't want to do that though. They could not poke, prod, and sew eyelids shut, and do all that other inhumane cruel stuff to a human.

I can't believe there are people in this very thread who do not know the history of scientists and animal emotions and ability of animals to feel pain. Blinders. That has to be it.

I'm just glad there are those of us who do know animals have emotions and can feel pain.

[MsPithy]

28. The real problem is people deny the fact that dogs have a "soul."

In the early days of Christianity a separation had to be made between men and the natural world. It was critical to shift worship from earthly things, Mother Earth or the Goddess, to an external male authority figure, God in heaven. The fact that human men who invented Christianity made themselves the ones who their God loves best is not very surprising. They imbued themselves with a specialness that other animals can't have and they called this specialness a "soul."

When church-goers knock on my door, before they can start their spiel, I ask if my dogs go to heaven with me. If they admit that the answer is "no," because animals do not have a "soul," I tell them they have nothing to say that would interest me. Why would I want to go to heaven if my dogs are not allowed? Would it even be heaven?

[MattBaggins]

60. Dogs do not have souls. Neither do humans.

[Paper Roses]

7. The more I know people, the more I love dogs.

My late mother used to say that every time someone somehow got under her skin. As a kid, I thought that it was a strange saying. As an old timer, I know there is great truth to those few words.

This story brought a lump to my throat.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. I have been saying that for decades now....

[OrangeGrapes]

47. I couldn't agree more

And I'll never forget that bit, even if I were to try.

[Barack_America]

8. There's no loyalty than can top that of a rescued dog.

I've got one sleeping at my feet as I type this.

[Raine]

9. Oh gee

:cry: tears literally ran down my cheeks over this.

[Brickbat]

12. Those poor parents. What a terrible way to lose a child.

[tuckessee]

13. I feel sorry for people who can't/don't have pets. n/t

[Boudica the Lyoness]

14. What a sad story

It really bothers me that Zelda might think Joshua deserted her. I hope she understands why he had to go.

I can't figure out why the dog in the picture is a male dog though.

[Nostradammit]

21. Been wondering that myself -

The caption says it's Zelda in the photo but in the article it refers to the dog as a female.

Pretty sure that's a male dog pictured.

None of which takes away from Dog's overall awesomeness, of course.

[zalinda]

32. I'm thinking that the dog was probably named after the video game. n/t

[LisaL]

44. That doesn't explain why the dog is referred to as "she."

[zalinda]

50. That's because it is a she

I took a closer look at the original pic and the dog has her tail between her legs. Apparently the tip of her tail is lighter than the rest of her coat, so it looks like she is a male.

zalinda

[Boudica the Lyoness]

51. Mystery solved

That is a doggie tail!

[TacticalPeek]

15. The dog is a gentleman

"The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's." ~Mark Twain, Letter to W. D. Howells, 4/2/1899

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Animals do grieve

[rainbow4321]

17. Even squirrels

My daughter was being driven to her high school by a friend a few years back and there was a heavy squirrel population on the road they took to school.
They saw a squirrel that must have just been hit by a driver. They then saw his fellow squirrels that were on the side of the road go right to the now dead squirrel and hover around it. The hovering squirrels then literally picked up the one that was hit and carried it to the side of the road.
She said it was so sad to watch the way they all went to it, gathered around it and stared, and then carried it off the road. She and her friend really thought the group of squirrels looked like they were mourning the loss of their friend.

[tuckessee]

35. I've seen exact the same things with rabbits and crows.

So I have no doubt that what your daughter & her friend thought they were seeing was exactly what they were seeing.

It's heartbreaking.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

52. They do

My dear old horse died last year and his cow, who'd he'd been inseparable from for 20 years, went looking for him. She went through a gate and came to our house and stood in our driveway, which was the last place she saw him, and waited for him. I saw her just last week standing alone, away from the other cows she's now with, looking towards the place they lived for all those years. I give her hugs and groom her to show her she's still loved but I can't take his place in her heart.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

22. Why does "Zelda" have a penis...doesn't the story say she is a bitch dog.? just asking

[lonestarnot]

29. Good question, yes it does.

[LisaL]

43. I noticed the same thing but didn't want to post it because

it's such a sad story-doesn't the dog in the photo look to be male?

[MilesColtrane]

61. Either the photos were added later by someone and they don't depict...

what they say they depict, or the author of the article was grossly negligent in reporting the gender of the dog, or the story about the dog is made up. (There does appear to have been a Joshua Reed who died in 2009.)

[malaise]

23. Too sad

Lovely story - I adore dogs.

[CanonRay]

26. My mother's two dogs acted the say way when she died

At the Cemetary, they'd stand near her grave and just howl. Very quiet dogs normally, but once there, they just cut loose. It was very unsettling, I can tell you.

[DollyM]

27. this is our story . . .

Animals depth of devotion goes way beyond our understanding. Our 19 year old son was killed in a car accident last year in May and his 17 year old cat died the same day. Kevan was a "cat" person, rescued every stray that he found and brought it home, it was his passion. My only solace is in knowing that he crossed the Rainbow Bridge with his beloved kitty.
http://www.tinastots-dolls.com/Yummy-s-page.html

[lukasahero]

40. I am so sorry for your loss, DollyM

So tragic. What a handsome boy. Your tribute to him and his cat are lovely.

:hug:

[renate]

48. what an incredible story of love

I'm so sorry for your terrible loss, and I'm glad that you have the comfort of knowing that they crossed the bridge together. Kevan sounds so sweet (and so does Yummy). I read Kevan's page on your website after reading Yummy's page; I have a special place in my heart for teenagers, especially boys, who have a gift for interacting with kids. What a wonderful young man. :hug:

[lldu]

31. My dog grieved for 11weeks after my wife's death

She would not eat and finally had to be put down when her organs started shutting down.

I pray my little Porsche is with my Teresa.

I feel animals do have emotions. Why else would my dog, Porsche, quit eating?

[susu369]

42. Same thing happened with my cousin's dog

Poor little dog roamed the house looking for my cousin and refused to eat. The dog also had to be put down.
We humans are very wrong to think we are superior to animals, IMHO.

[Fire1]

33. Every now and then we get to see true love and loyalty in

this world. Keep em comin and thank you.

[ooglymoogly]

34. Our dogs contain the last of America's ravaged honor.

Guard them with our lives. Their love and friendship is all that truly can be counted on without condition, other than to be loved and held close.

[Very_Boring_Name]

36. Its kind of amazing. Theres a legend in my family about my great uncle who died in WW2

he had this dog who basically ran away the day he got shipped off to war. The day my great grandmother got the news that he had been killed, the dog returned, stayed with the family for that day, and by morning he was gone again.

[Jamastiene]

55. My great Uncle who died after coming home from WW2 had a dog that

howled the minute he died. He died in the hospital but the dog was in a friend's car(who volunteered to take the dog to visit my great uncle) on the way home from a visit when he let out that howl. That dog spent the rest of his life spending time each day by his grave. At first, he stayed at the grave for days without leaving, then my grandmother paid a neighbor who lived closer to the graveyard (my grandmother didn't have her own car to make the trip) to make sure he was fed and that he was eating. He eventually started spending more time closer to home, but he still visited the grave every day. It was a few miles down the road too; a long walk for every day.

[Marr]

39. So they've only actually found the dog in the vicinity of the graveyard twice.

Apparently she's roaming all over, looking for the boy. That's even more sad that going to his grave.

[BeHereNow]

45. "Stiffy Green" of Terre Haute, Indiana

"Stiffy Green" is quite famous where I grew up in Indiana-
As teenagers the weekend thrill was to visit the mausoleum
in the Forest Lawn Cemetery to catch a glimpse of his glowing
green eyes through the mausoleum glass. The sight of those glowing orbs
always sent us screaming through the grave yard
back to some one's car.
It is one of my fondest memories about growing up in Terre Haute.
There wasn't much to do there back then...especially for teenagers.

The city finally moved him to the Terre Haute Historical Society Museum-
Some assholes started vandalizing the tomb, shooting at him through the glass, etc...

He is still there, and I bought the sweatshirt AND the tee shirt last time
I was there to visit.
Great story about how he died watching over his master's grave here-
http://www.terrorhaute.com/leg-stiffy.html

Lot's of good ghost stories about the area if you enjoy that type of reading- I do.

BHN

[mnhtnbb]

46. Hachiko--the ultimate in pet loyalty--made into a movie starring Richard Gere

The real-life dog, named Hachiko, was born in Odate, Japan, in 1923 and was adopted as a puppy by Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo University. They developed a daily routine in which Hachiko would accompany Ueno to the train station when he left for work each morning and meet him back at the station at the end of the work day. After the doctor died suddenly at school of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1925, Hachiko was left waiting. And day after day, for more than 10 years after his master's death, Hachiko would return to the same station to wait for the train. Visitors to Tokyo can see a bronze monument dedicated to the dog at the entrance of Shibuya Station, where he loyally waited for Ueno.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2010-09-25-richard-gere_N.htm

[Joanne98]

49. SNIFF!

:cry:

[Vinca]

56. About a year ago I found a large, black and white photo of 2 dogs

sprawled out on a deteriorated crypt in a cemetery. The barely readable inscription was a woman's name from the 1800's. Obviously, the dogs had nothing to do with the woman since the photo was modern, but the image made me tear up. There's nothing that compares to the love and loyalty of a good dog or cat.

[Omaha Steve]

58. Kick

[Dappleganger]

59. Friends 'til the end.

My promise to our dogs as well as what they do for me.