A girl named Claire: A dog named Tuffy

Hello Lucie and Beans here.  We want to share with you a story about our human mom. We are so proud of her. We have been waiting for the right place to brag about her for the longest of times with all our Boston Friends.

So when the Boston Terrier Network offered us the chance we litterly jump on the chair to tell you.  We are so excited... Our mom is so special.. Woof! Woof! So grab a treat and settle down mom has a great true story to tell.

 OK MOM,  We are ready. Tell us the story again about Claire and Tuffy !

Okay Lucie and Beans.  I will tell you the story about Claire and Tuffy." And so the story begins.  "That day last March, began like so many other days. I got up, went to work and began my daily routine.  Little did I know that, my path was about to cross with a runaway girl and her precious dog Tuffy.

When I arrived at my flower shop, my employee Debbie told me that i needed to go to Evansville ( a local town about 25 miles away) to get some items for a special order gift basket.I drug my feet as long as possible but finally at about 10:30 that morning , I set off to do my shopping.I was able to find everyhting I needed, and at about 12:30, I started back home.

I thought I would stop at Arby's and grab a quick bite and I noticed as I was driving West towards Arby's, there were some black storm clouds on the horizon. When I arrived at Arby's, I eased my car into the line of vehicles waiting to go thru the drive-thru.

I caught a glimpse of a young girl with a dog, and I watched as she was busy digging in a trash can. Eventually I made my way to the speaker to order and as I made eye contact with this girl, something didn't seem right. I paid for my food and pulled up to the street, and my inner voice said to go back and talk to this girl. I pulled back around and drove up to where she was now sitting under a tree. I spoke to her and said" hello, how are you doing"? She replied" I'm good, just trying to find something to feed my dog."

I offered to buy her lunch and she eagerly accepted. While she ate her sandwich, She told me her name was Claire and I started asking questions. I asked her where she was from and she said Nashville. She appeared to be so young, so my next question was, "How old are you honey ?"  She hesitated but dropped her head a little and said, "I'll be 15 in August."  "15! "I said" Do your parents know your out here."  She said that they didn't.  She had left Nashville two days earlier and was trying to get to Chicago, to meet a boy she had talked to on the internet. 

She explained that he was there in jail and needed her. I told her how dangerous it was for her to be traveling and hitchhiking.  But she quickly interrupted and said,  that's why she had her dog Tuffy with her. Now, I was in a quandary, do I call the local police and have her picked up because, I knew she was a runaway. I looked at her and said to her that I was sure her parents had to be frantic and would she at least let me call them and let them know she was alright.

At first, she said no, but after a few minutes, she said I could, but please don't tell them where she was. I dialed the number she gave me and after a few rings, a lady answered. I introduced myself and said I was here with her daughter. I wanted to let her know her daughter was okay for now.

The lady started weeping and asked to speak to her daughter, when I tried to hand her the phone, she refused to speak to her mother. I got back on the phone, and her Mother asked me if Tuffy was with her. I said yes and that we had just had lunch. I felt torn because I wanted so bad for her Mother to know where we were. But I had promised Claire that I wouldn't reveal our location.

I hung up, by now it was starting to rain. I did not want to just drive off and leave them there,  but I was not sure what to do. She got out of my vehicle and crossed the street and sat down under a small grove of trees. As I drove away, I called my Pastor, Lee Brown and told him what had just happened. I told him I was going to call her Mother back. I hated to break my promise but I would have hated it more if something bad happened to her.

 When her Mother answered my call, I told her that we were in Evansville, and I gave her the number to Central Dispatch (emergency). I told her to call them (police) and tell them Claire was at the west side Arbys. A unit in the area soon arrived. I had so much guilt, I felt I betrayed her, but I also knew it was the right thing to do.

I called a friend of mine that is a E.P.D. officer and I asked about Tuffy. I was so afraid he would go to the local shelter, which is a high kill shelter. He said to call back to her Mother, he gave me the number to the local animal shelter and he said they would hold Tuffy for 48 hours. When I called her Mother back, she told me they were already on their way North to get their daughter. I told her to call the shelter and gave her their number. I told her that they would a be holding Tuffy for 48 hours..

I felt a sense of relief, knowing that the girl and Tuffy would soon be back home safe. About three weeks later, my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number as it was long distance.

I answered and a voice said," Hello, it's me Claire...the girl with the dog at Arbys. She said she just wanted to thank me for what I did and that she was so

rry, for all the trouble she had caused. She said she was getting some counseling and her parents and her were getting along better than they had in months. Tuffy was fine.  I was relieved.  I think God placed me there at that moment to intervene and help this girl and her dog.

 For those of you that are wondering, was Tuffy a Boston Terrier? Well no he wasn't. If I were guessing, I'd say he was part it bull and part Australian Shepard. But regardless of his heritage, he and Claire were well worth my time that day.