Frozen dog finds new home
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BY ROD STETZER rstetzer@chippewa.com
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 12:06 PM CST
JIM FALLS - His real name is Nobie. The malamute-husky likes to run fast. And he's getting a new home as of Friday.
The dog the Chippewa County Humane Association dubbed Ice Train was claimed by a Chippewa Falls family on Tuesday. But the family decided to give up the dog this morning, said shelter manager Vickie O'Branovich.
She described the decision as one of sacrifice for the family and one that's best for the dog.
She said 53 people applied to adopt the dog that was found frozen on train tracks in Chippewa Falls on Dec. 19.
The new owner lives in Trempealeau County and already has two Siberian Huskies, O'Branovich said. “They are all in fantastic health,” she said.
She said the new owner will take Ice Train out on the exercise track, and has a fenced-in area for his dogs.
The dog will be released to his new owner Friday after undergoing neutering and getting a rabies shot Thursday.
The dog's previous owners got Nobie/Ice Train as a gift a couple months ago, said Melissa Nelson, adoption coordinator for the association.
The father was walking Nobie off-leash the night of Dec. 18 when he bolted away and couldn't be caught. Nobie was rescued Dec. 19 after it was found frozen to train tracks in Chippewa Falls. The dog was freed just 10 minutes before a train was scheduled to pass through.
Nelson described the family as “very sweet, very understanding, wonderful people.”
She said they hadn't been prepared for taking on the dog in the first place.
“It's a huge step in life. It's almost like taking on another child,” she said. “I have to commend them for being big enough and being able to admit that.”
The Chippewa Herald's story on the dog on Thursday was circulated by the AP, drawing media attention around the nation and even Africa. The humane association was swamped by phone calls and emails from as far away as California, Arizona, New York and England.
“I appreciate the concern and sympathy,” said the dog's previous owner. “He's a good dog and he just got away.”
The dog's previous owner lives on the Chippewa Falls' East Hill. He did not want to be identified.
He said he found out the humane association had Nobie from a media report Thursday night. He said he left a phone message at the association, but, understandably, didn't get a call back.
O'Branovich previously said the association received over 200 calls and e-mails about the dog.
A state-mandated seven-day holding period on the dog passed Tuesday morning. That means the owners would now have to go through the same adoption process as the other 50 people who filed papers to adopt the dog. More than 400 people inquired about adoption of Ice Train.
The previous owner said he heard a media report that if the dog's owner wasn't identified by Tuesday morning, Nobie would be put up for adoption.
“I didn't think I would be able to get him back,” the owner said.
So he, his wife and daughter went to the association's office on Tuesday. To show he was the owner, he correctly answered a question about an identifying mark on the dog.
Nelson credited the widespread coverage of the story for helping other strays. She said well-wishers who came to visit the husky have adopted two dogs and three cats.
“Other animals out here have really been benefiting, too,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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