Abby's Reunion

The driver didnt know where
he was or that his dog had
jumped out of his truck, beginning
a drama that spanned Oklahoma,
Canada and Florida with
a dash from Illinois to Arkansas
thrown in.
Bob Richardson had pulled
his 18-wheeler off Interstate 40
looking for an eating place at
Pottsville on Sunday afternoon,
Nov. 9, and when he saw they
were closed, he got back on I-40
and headed west. He was at Tulsa
when he realized his beloved
Jack Russell terrier, Abby, was
missing. She had apparently
jumped out of the window while
he was turning around.
Panicked, he stopped and
started trying to find out where
he had been. He didnt even
remember the exit number or
town. He started checking, with
the help of a state trooper, who
thought he must have been at
Atkins. His wife, Robin, began
making phone calls from Florida.
First she called the Atkins
McDonalds and then the KFCTaco
Bell at Atkins.
A
w o m a n
at KFC
was sympathetic.
T o n i
B r a u -
d r i c k
said her
mo t h e r
had seen
a dog like
that at the
Pottsville exit. She then went to
Pottsville and looked for the dog
for two hours that night.
Bob unloaded his truck in
Tulsa, came back through
Pottsville with his loaded
truck on Tuesday (on the way
to Canada) and searched for
the dog, with Tonis help,
but couldnt find her. His
wife then sent a flier with
a picture of Abby to Toni
to post on Wednesday, but
they were never posted.
Thats when Tammy
Kibler of the Pottsville
branch of Liberty Bank
became interested, after
hearing about the missing
dog from Gary Pemberton,
who lives on Highway
64 east and had talked to
Bob when he came back
through.
She first searched the
area Wednesday night with
her daughter but didnt find Abby.
She was on her way to lunch on
Thursday and, as she was driving
along Highway 64 near the
post office, she saw a dog on the
roadside, a Jack Russell.
She stopped and followed
the dog to the porch of a house.
It rolled on its back. No one was
home at that house. So she carried
her to the next house and
knocked on the door. She asked
the woman who lived at that house if it was her dog. The woman
said no, that it had been wandering
around the area and she had taken
in the dog, even letting it sleep
with her. She and others had been
feeding her.
Tammy decided that the dog
was Abby and got permission to
take it away. She was looking for
a phone number for Robin Richardson,
Bobs wife, at home in
LaBelle, Fla.
Meanwhile, Robin was calling
all the businesses in Pottsville.
The bank branch was number 15
on her list and she almost didnt
call because she thought a bank
wouldnt be likely to know but
everyone else had been so nice,
she decided to try.
She called anyway, and said.
This is Robin from Florida and I
have a strange request, but . . .
Sandy Ewell asked if she was
looking for a dog. She said she was,
and asked How did you know?
Sandy said, Someone here has
your little dog.
Robin then called Bob in his
truck as he was going through
customs into Canada with a load.
She told him to pull over, that she
had something to tell him. His first
reaction was, Oh no! but she said
it was good news.
When he was stopped, she told
him, Theres a lady at Pottsville
whos found Abby and shes alive.
There was a lot of crying of joy
in the various conversations.
Richardsons truck line, Combined
Transport, tried but wasnt
able to get a truck run routed
through Pottsville, but let him
have weekend layover in Decatur,
Ill., and let him use the company
discount to rent a car. So he left
his truck in Illinois, rented a car
and rushed to Pottsville last Saturday
to get Abby.
Tammy was so moved by the
reunion of Bob and Abby that she
videotaped the meeting.
(The video of the meeting is on
The Chronicle web site, above the
front page.)
Robin Richardson is effusive
in her praise of Toni and the
people of Pottsville. I want to give
one huge thank you to everyone
who helped.
She said she was writing to
Opra Winfrey to see it she would
do a segment about the incident.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Abby
• Reunited
• Dog
• Pottsville