Grieving dog drawn to savior's grave
Mishawaka family plans fence to keep Zelda safe at home
8:59 AM, Nov 27, 2010 | 10Comments
Marci Reed, Mishawaka, kisses her late son Joshua's dog, Zelda, on a visit to his grave near Bremen. Joshua, 15, was killed in a four-wheeler accident last year, and Zelda often runs to the cemetery to lie on his grave. Animal control officers return her free of charge. / Marcus Marter / Associated PressTwitterFacebookShare
Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Facebook Twitter Newsvine Buzz up!FarkIt EmailPrintAAA
Written by
Alicia Gallegos
South Bend Tribune Filed Under
Communities
Zoom Marci and David Reed speak about their late son Joshua's relationship with his dog Zelda, center, at their home near Bremen, Ind. / Marcus Marter / Associated PressSOUTH 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.' "
Zelda lost an eye in the accident, and her tail was broken in several places, but the dog flourished at the Reed home.
Zelda followed Joshua everywhere, waiting for him every day when he got off the school bus.
Zelda and Joshua would roll around in the grass outside the family's Mishawaka farm. They would race down the gravel drive, with the boy on his bike and Zelda sprinting beside him.
So Zelda, along with the rest of the Reed family, entered a world of emptiness last year when, one day, Joshua didn't come home.
When Joshua asked his parents for a four-wheeler, they first said no. But he promised to earn half the money for the vehicle himself, said his dad, and worked extra-hard on the farm to make the wish a reality.
The Penn High School freshman loved his new ATV, riding it with a group of four-wheeling friends in the summer of 2009.
The Reeds will never know why Joshua didn't stop and look when he approached the intersection of Pierce Road and Ind. 331 on the evening of Sept. 3. It might have been because the road had previously been closed and only recently opened for traffic.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20101127/LOCAL/11270355/Grieving-dog-drawn-to-grave-of-boy-who-saved-her?odyssey=tab|topnews|textv|IndyStar.com|optionb|p
Mishawaka family plans fence to keep Zelda safe at home
8:59 AM, Nov 27, 2010 | 10Comments
Marci Reed, Mishawaka, kisses her late son Joshua's dog, Zelda, on a visit to his grave near Bremen. Joshua, 15, was killed in a four-wheeler accident last year, and Zelda often runs to the cemetery to lie on his grave. Animal control officers return her free of charge. / Marcus Marter / Associated PressTwitterFacebookShare
Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Facebook Twitter Newsvine Buzz up!FarkIt EmailPrintAAA
Written by
Alicia Gallegos
South Bend Tribune Filed Under
Communities
Zoom Marci and David Reed speak about their late son Joshua's relationship with his dog Zelda, center, at their home near Bremen, Ind. / Marcus Marter / Associated PressSOUTH 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.' "
Zelda lost an eye in the accident, and her tail was broken in several places, but the dog flourished at the Reed home.
Zelda followed Joshua everywhere, waiting for him every day when he got off the school bus.
Zelda and Joshua would roll around in the grass outside the family's Mishawaka farm. They would race down the gravel drive, with the boy on his bike and Zelda sprinting beside him.
So Zelda, along with the rest of the Reed family, entered a world of emptiness last year when, one day, Joshua didn't come home.
When Joshua asked his parents for a four-wheeler, they first said no. But he promised to earn half the money for the vehicle himself, said his dad, and worked extra-hard on the farm to make the wish a reality.
The Penn High School freshman loved his new ATV, riding it with a group of four-wheeling friends in the summer of 2009.
The Reeds will never know why Joshua didn't stop and look when he approached the intersection of Pierce Road and Ind. 331 on the evening of Sept. 3. It might have been because the road had previously been closed and only recently opened for traffic.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20101127/LOCAL/11270355/Grieving-dog-drawn-to-grave-of-boy-who-saved-her?odyssey=tab|topnews|textv|IndyStar.com|optionb|p
