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| Boomer and Precious |
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| In Fort Pierce, Florida, a 17-year-old German shepherd who saved his owner and three other people from a trailer fire is scheduled to be put to sleep within days. In June, Boomer was credited with barking and nipping his owner, Tascha Haskell, her mother and others while they slept as the fire burned. But the fire forced Haskell to place Boomer and his 17-year-old brother, Precious, at the local Humane Society animal shelter. Haskell is currently staying with friends who could not take in the dogs, and her mother is staying at a motel that does not allow pets. Boomer and Precious have been at the shelter since Aug 1. The older dogs are not considered very adoptable because most people prefer puppies, said Humane Society Director Mike Morris. He said he doesn't want to euthanize the dogs, but he doesn't have a choice. Haskell said she is looking for a job and trying to save money to find a place to live, but it won't be in time to save the dogs. "They're really good dogs," she said. "I don't want them to die." |
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| Story has tail-wagging end By ROBIN MITCHELL � St. Petersburg Times, published August 9, 2001 How quickly they forget that you saved four people, two of them pregnant, back in June as fire destroyed a mobile home, which is where you and your brother lived, too. You can hock all your accolades and it won't buy a bone. Such was the lot for Boomer, hero dog. Being set in their ways of 17 years -- that's 119 in dog years -- was about to doom Boomer and brother Precious. Their owner, whom Boomer had awakened as their trailer burned, had placed them at the Humane Society of St. Lucie animal shelter after the fire. Her home gone, she was unable to find a place to take the two dogs. But an animal shelter is not a retirement home, and the two German shepherds hadn't fared well in the unair-conditioned shelter's concrete pens since they arrived Aug. 1. In that world, the old, the sick, lame and unruly usually don't make it out alive. "They've only got a few more days," Humane Society director Mike Morris said Tuesday. Then Boomer and Precious pulled the trump card. Cold noses and chocolate-brown eyes. When word got out in Fort Pierce on Wednesday that the dogs faced the Last Walk, rescuers were at the door and on the telephone when the shelter opened. "We must have had 350 to 400 calls," said Sandy Spells, a Humane Society lab technician. Calls came from down the street, from across town and over in the next county. Calls came from Texas, New York and California. Calls came in non-stop, offering a home for Boomer and Precious and other animals at the shelter. Calls came in offering to air condition the place. Two grumpy old dogs, Boomer and Precious, mugged for television crews. "We expect the animals to be placed by the end of the week," Spells said. But it won't be a home with other animals or children. These are curmudgeonly curs. It's also a package deal. "They really do need to be together," said Spells. "They're littermates." The home, too, is permanent, Spells said. That's one of the rules. No foster care. Boomer first weaseled his way into the heart of St. Lucie County a couple of months back. At 4 a.m. June 22, Boomer barked and nipped his owner Tascha Haskell -- then five months pregnant -- and her mother, Diana Durrance, until they woke up and noticed smoke spreading through the room. The two were staying in Amy Grubbs' trailer in Windsong Trailer Park because their own house had recently been foreclosed on. Durrance and Haskell then woke up Grubbs, who also was pregnant, and her boyfriend, Juan Flores. All four made it to safety. The fire left Haskell and Durrance with nowhere to go. Haskell and her boyfriend lived for a short time in an abandoned trailer with Boomer and Precious, but the trailer had no air conditioning or window screens. The bugs, rats and heat soon grew unbearable. Haskell now is staying with a friend in Port St. Lucie who could not take the dogs in. She's looking for a job and saving money to find a place to live. Haskell's mother is staying at a motel that does not allow pets. Taking the two dogs to the shelter was Haskell's only choice. She had raised Boomer and Precious since they were puppies and doesn't want them separated. "Boomer isn't the same without his brother," she said. Admitting that the two dogs can be "snappy" at times, Haskell wants them to spend their final days in peace. "I want them to live," she said. "When I was living in the trailer with my boyfriend and no one was with me, they kept me company. They're really good dogs. I don't want them to die." Fort Pierce Tribune staff writer Paula Holzman contributed to this report. |
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| Boomer and Precious were adopted in August by a 74-year-old woman in nearby Port St. Lucie. Martha Hovsepian stroked their tan and black fur. "You don't know how much love you're going to get," she told them. |