'Total house dog' two-time survivor

After almost a week of foraging alone through the Southeast Missouri countryside, Shelby's glad to be back in her mother's arms.

Her eyes wild with excitement, her tail thrashing against the hospital bed sheets, the miniature dachshund drenches Stacy Stewart's face in kisses. Tears stream down Stewart's cheeks.

"It's OK. It's OK," she repeatedly whispers into Shelby's floppy ears as she rubs the dog's belly.

The shock of this reunion has made it difficult for Stewart to speak above that whisper.

"You're a big tough girl, aren't you?"

These two haven't seen each other since the night of Oct. 22, when Stewart lost control of her northbound Jeep and overturned in the median on Interstate 55. The accident 10 miles north of Fruitland put Stewart, a St. Louis resident, in Saint Francis Medical Center with a broken left shoulder, a fractured right arm, four cracked ribs and the news that Shelby and her miniature dachshund brother, Harvey, were killed in the accident. In fact, Harvey had been killed, but Shelby just couldn't be found.

"They didn't want to get her hopes up," says Stewart's friend and co-worker Mark Parsons, his pants spotted with mud and water stains from helping to search for Shelby.

Parsons was part of the search party that found the 3-year-old dog in a wooded area outside Fruitland at about 12:30 Thursday afternoon, about 2 miles from the interstate.

Ever since news of the missing dog hit the Cape Girardeau media, area residents had been calling in with Shelby sightings. Stewart's friends and family spent hours searching the ditches and woods along I-55 for the dog. Tuesday night, Linda Kesterson called to report that she'd seen a dog like Shelby several times outside of her Fruitland home.

In response, Parsons and co-worker Laura Karr drove down from St. Louis, rendezvoused with Stewart's sister, Sandy Stewart of Portageville, Mo., and took to the woods around Kesterson's home around 9 a.m. Thursday. But three hours of fruitless searching left the party with little hope.

"We were beginning to doubt. I mean, that little dog had been living in the woods for five days," Parsons says.

The fact that Shelby had been a "total house dog" as described by the Stewart family didn't boost hopes for the animal's survival.

After noon, the party gave up hope and returned to Kesterson's house to thank her for her help. As their vehicle pulled out of her driveway, Sandy Stewart turned left and spotted Shelby.

"She was just standing there like a prayer answered," says Parsons, gazing at the happy dog.

However, when Sandy Stewart yelled Shelby's name, the dog darted off into the woods. It took another two hours before a trail of bacon and bologna led the timid refugee into Kesterson's garage, where she was finally corralled. They phoned Stacy immediately.

"I don't have the words," she says, pushing out a scratchy whisper with all the force she can muster. "It's been a rough week. It's unreal."

As Stacy Stewart's friends and family in the hospital room look on at the tiny dog nestled in its owner's arms, the mixture of joy and relief is almost palpable.

"I think she's glad to be home," she whispers.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137