Here's an email from Siobhan, dated 12/22/07:
A little while ago Steve Duncan, the Mountain Loop dog's new owner, called me at home. I sent him a check and I guess he got my number from the check. I sent it in one of the cards I drew with a coyote on it and he complimented me on it and said that coyotes were one of his favorite animals. He said that people had seen the dog playing with coyotes when he was younger. He also said the vet had determined that somehow the dog was producing more female hormone than male and this may have protected him from the coyotes attacking him. Hmm. I never learned about that one in college!
He said that he will have surgery in about a month or so. He has a few masses but is otherwise in remarkably good shape. He did not have any fleas. He had such a thick layer of dirt on him that it may have repelled them.
He is taking food from Steve's hand now. In the seven years that he fed him on the Mountain Loop, he could never get closer than 4 feet. He said he has really perked up since getting on medication for the arthritis. He is in a fenced area and will be pampered and cared for for the rest of his life. Steve also has 2 other dogs and 11 cats that he rescued.
Steve has received money from people that don't live anywhere near the Mountain Loop just because they were touched by the story. He has more than enough money from donations to do the surgery as of right now. The reporter may do a follow up story in a couple of months.
Happy Holidays!
Siobhan | 