Jan 22

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of wabash county inc.

January 22, 2014

www.thepaperofwabash.com

Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977

Vol. 36, No. 42

PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326

Lost and found: the story of a stray by Eric Stearley eric@thepaperofwabash.com In mid-November, John Boardman was mowing his lawn when he noticed a visitor near his home. The visitor was about 35 pounds, tan in color, and what John believed to be a cocker spaniel. John’s cousin, who lives on Shady Lane Drive, had seen the visitor before, but was never able to get very close. The little guy stuck around, often hanging out near the crest of a hill at the edge of the Boardman property. “I called the animal shelter after a few days,” said John. They had gotten calls about this dog, but they couldn’t get close enough to catch it after trying several times. The dog was scared of everything and everybody, and he never got within 100 feet of a person.” Animals roaming around the south side of town was not unusual according to John, who recounted multiple run-ins with stray cats, for which he keeps a cage in the basement. Something about this little dog, however, stuck with John and his wife Marilyn. They could tell he was wearing a collar, and they knew someone must be wondering where their pet was. “I put food out for him and put water in a container with a bird bath heater under it to prevent freezing,” said John. “I’d try to get him to eat, but he wouldn’t come up and eat when I was around. At night, he’d come up then.” Most days when the couple woke up, the food would be gone, but it made the young dog no less afraid of humans. With the weather only getting colder, the Boardmans started to worry about the dog’s safety. His fur was well overgrown, but the temperature was starting to drop below freezing regularly. The Boardmans worried so much about this little dog, it kept them up at night, thinking and wondering where the scared little dog was spending its nights. The Boardmans’ neighbors had taken notice of the newcomer as well. Stella Denney had seen the dog narrowly escape being struck by a car on Peterson Drive. Bob LaMont

“Today, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a great American leader whose persistence and courage changed our nation. Dr. King’s efforts to peacefully advocate for justice for AfricanAmericans changed the course of American history and inspire us still today. “Dr. King’s commitment to all mankind stands as a wonderful example of how every Hoosier should serve their community. On this important day, I urge people across our state to seek out ways to be servant leaders in their own communities to keep Dr. King’s legacy alive.” -Governor Mike Pence, Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

had noticed the dog a few weeks before, as it followed him from a distance on his way to the market to get a paper each morning. Florence Draper had talked to police about the dog after they knocked on her door at 5:30 a.m. one morning after receiving a complaint of a loose dog running around her house. Draper, who told John that she doesn’t like animals, but that she just couldn’t sleep at night thinking about that little dog out in the cold. John decided to take things into his own hands. Though not a huge dog, the cat cage he had in the basement was not big enough. He got a cage from the animal shelter and started putting the dog’s food inside the trap. Though the dog may have been irrationally scared of humans, he was very smart. John would watch as the dog, afraid to step inside the cage, would reach in with one paw and pull the food outside before devouring his meal. As John put the food further inside the cage, the dog would reach further inside to remove it. Afraid to step inside a structure intended for capture, John decided to build a small doghouse, hoping that it would at least give the dog a sheltered place to sleep. Not only would the dog go nowhere near the doghouse, but avoided the Boardmans’ open garage and Bob LaMont’s open utility shed. John once moved the dog’s food dish under the overhang of his garage to keep it out of the rain, but the dog had no interest in getting that close to a building. With no luck capturing the dog, John went to the vet seeking alternative measures. “I went to the veterinarian and asked him ‘what can I do about this dog that is so scared?” said John. The vet sold him some tranquilizers, which he put in a small amount of wet dog food. “He came up and ate it, and he got slowed down a bit,” said John. “He’d come up closer, but you’d go out there and he wouldn’t even come close. He’d go over there across the hill and lie down in the (continued on page 4)

JASPER STANDS IN THE SNOW more than a hundred feet from John Boardman’s house. The picture was taken with a telephoto lens as Boardman’s concern for the dog’s safety began to rise and temperatures continued to fall. (photo provided)

Local businesses promote healthy New Years resolutions by Eric Stearley eric@ thepaperofwabash.com ‘Tis the season for resolutions. In this, the third week of January, you may be among those still signing documents dated “2013.” As you erase and correct the date, 71 percent of Americans have already erased, or at least given up on, their 2014 resolutions, according to a study conducted by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology. Resolutions at the start of a new year are as numerous and as diverse as the people who make them, but there are recurring themes. According to the same study, the most common resolution is weight loss, and staying fit and healthy comes in fifth. In addition, 47 percent of resolutions have to do with self-improvement, with another 38 percent relating to weight loss. Of course, making a resolution is the easy part. Succeeding is more difficult. By the first of July, less (continued on page 5)

SWEAT FACTORY OWNER SHELLY RUCH drops down into the aero-bars on one of the new Real Ryder exercise bikes during her spin class on Monday, Jan. 20. The Sweat Factory is one of just three workout facilities in the state to feature Real Ryder spin bikes, a new technology that allows the bike and rider to move from side to side, simulating the motion of a real bike and reducing the potential for injuries and joint stress. Spin classes are just one of the many ways to stay fit in Wabash County. (photo by Eric Stearley)


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