Folks still ask about Hobo, the Mountain Loop Highway Dog.
I wrote about the stray back in December. Local legend for perhaps 10 years, neighbors gossiped about a homeless canine surviving near Big Four’s ice caves.
He was known in Granite Falls as Lucky, Hobo or Roadkill.
Steve Duncan of Mount Vernon cared for the dog. An extreme animal lover, he built a shelter for Hobo and provided him with food, as did others who helped care for a dog that took to laying next to the busy road.
“I thought somebody dropped him off,” Duncan said. “I worried about him all the time.”
Duncan, who works for the Snohomish County Road Maintenance Department, got wind that Hobo was caught last fall. He rushed to get the dog, and brought him to a spacious outdoor pen at Duncan’s home.
Hobo is doing fine at his new digs, side by side with birds, cats and other critters.
“He gets his cage door opened as soon as I get home,” Duncan said. “He usually comes out and walks around the yard, and then goes back in to his bed.”
Hobo has lumps on his belly, but they are not cancerous. He is too old for surgery, Duncan said.
“I have never regretted for a minute bringing him home. I see him walking around the yard, and I feel so glad that he is not up on the mountain.”
Duncan said his charge seems content, with a soft bed, good food and fresh water.
“I’m sorry he lost his freedom, but I am so glad I have him here and he is safe,” his friend said. “He deserves some good times.”
If you can handle dead birds once a month, this job is for you.
COASST, the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, a citizen science organization at the University of Washington, needs volunteers.
They will train folks to check local beaches for deceased specimens to track the status and trends of coastal resources.
They call them “Beach-cast birds.” Rebecca Gamboa says there is a free training session planned for 10 a.m. Sept. 13 in Stanwood. For more information, go to www.coasst.org.
She said the nicey-nice terminology is included in a “Beached Bird Field Guide” which explains how to measure and identify beach-cast birds.
“It sounds a little better than dead bird, huh?” Gamboa said. “It’s true: We don’t often find birds washed up on Puget Sound beaches, but we still have our volunteers survey the beach once a month to get a baseline.”
Just about every school, club, church and business has contributed to needy eaters, and that’s a good thing.
But the Marysville Community Food Bank has come up with a dandy fundraiser that might catch on, in conjunction with United Way’s Day of Caring.
Gather teams from work, school, church or friends. Register with United Way online at www.uwsc.org or call Michelle Morris at 425-374-5534. Collect as much food and money as possible. Get to the food bank between 5 and 6 p.m. Sept. 13 and have your team picture taken with your donations.
All teams that bring in more than 500 pounds of food or $500 will be listed on a plaque hung on the wall at the food bank.
There will be prizes for the top three teams.
Besides nonperishable food, don’t forget they need diapers and baby wipes. Oh yes, they also need $100,000 to help pay for a new building.
Bring in $100,000 and get a really nice picture taken.
Fun fact: The city of Marysville offers “Touch a Truck” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 13 at Totem Middle School.
Children will have a hands-on chance to sit in the driver’s seat, honk the horns and kick the tires on a variety of big rigs.
I told Andrea Hartland, city recreation coordinator, that I was shocked when I misread the event as being “Torch a Truck.”
“Well the Marysville Fire District will be on site,” Hartland said.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com
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