Community rallies to find missing puppy

After Jenny Smith read in the Nevada Appeal about a wheel-chair-bound girl who lost her dog, she decided to search for the missing puppy.

"My heart just went out to her," Smith said. "I know how much it probably warmed her heart just to hold him. I own a dog and I know dogs are part of the family."

Smith took her own dog, Ozzie, for a walk around the neighborhood where the missing puppy, Pee Wee, was last seen.

"It was just two blocks away from my house and I thought as long as I was out there, I would look for it," she said. "I thought maybe he was hungry or would see my dog and come up to us."

Tina Harris, who suffers from cerebral palsy, received a toy fox terrier for her birthday at the end of August. Last week the puppy disappeared from the backyard of her group home on Cortez Street.

Her grandmother, Mary Harris, said an article in the Oct. 3 edition of the Appeal inspired a flood of phone calls. Some offered to buy Tina a new puppy, others offered to give her one.

And others, like Smith, remain quietly vigilant.

"There are so many wonderful people out there," Mary said.

Still, no one has found Pee Wee.

But the family has not given up hope. Mary said a man called her Wednesday evening, reporting he had seen the dog but was unable to catch him. Mary said she would search the neighborhood again Thursday.

If Pee Wee is not found, Mary said she plans to take Tina to the Puppies for Parole prison adoption program through the Humane Society to see if there is a dog small enough for Tina to hold.

YOU CAN HELP

If you have any information about the missing black-and-white toy fox terrier Pee Wee, call Mary Harris at 629-0384.