On May 31, 2009 Rufus of Pearlville was dognapped in a Wilmington parking lot.  After several days he escaped from his captors and eventually found his way home on July 2.  Dick Miller, owner of Pearlville Winery, and his employee Jim Federer pled guilty to the crime and have been sentenced.  Betsy Miller, Dick’s wife and Chairperson of the Pearlville Town Council was arrested on August 6 for conspiracy related to the dognapping.  Her trial is pending.

When Rufus recovered from his adventure Wayne Kobel sensed that he wanted to tell his story.  Wayne took Rufus to Grassman Camp and left him with Klak Grassman.  The Grassmans understand dog language as well as the language of many animals.  Klak has known Rufus since he was a puppy and took an interest in helping him tell his story.  Once told, Wayne arranged for Klak to meet with Miss Sasso, Sign Language Teacher at Pearlville Elementary, to translate Rufus’s story into English.

           Rufus                                Klak Grassman

Here is Rufus’s story:

We went for ride in the car to a place where Wayne gets things for his business.  We stopped and he got out and told me I had to stay in the car, but he left the window down a little so I could look out.  I saw people coming and going but there were no dogs.  A car stopped beside me.  I looked to see what kind of people would get out and if they had a dog.  Two men got out and my whole body tensed.  Something was wrong about them!  I recognized them as the men from the winery.  They had been nice to me in Pearlville, but there was something wrong about them now.   I was scared and I couldn’t move.

 The bigger one came close and stared at me.  He frightened me and I barked at him.  Where is Wayne?  I wish he would come back now!  The big one took something from his clothes and worked on the door until it opened.  I snarled at him but he threw a blanket over me and grabbed me.  I tried to get away but he held me too tight and something heavy hit my head.  When I woke up I was in a cage in the back of a strange car.  My head hurt.  I had never been hurt before.  I’ve had a bump here and a scrape there and little bites from other dogs when we were playing.  But this!  It hurt real bad.  I didn’t know that people hurt dogs.  Sometimes when I had to let my people know who was pack leader they would make a loud noise and I thought they would hurt me but they never did.  What pack of people is this?  I have to get out of here and warn my people that there are bad people packs out there.  I see maybe-bad people all the time when I’m guarding our home.  They are too far away for me to be sure that they are bad, but when they walk across my scent lines I have to scare them away no matter who they are.  Most of them are probably not bad but they shouldn’t cross my markers.

 I was in the car for a long time- I don’t know how long but I barked at the winery men when I had to pee.  One of them made loud noises at me.  When I barked again he got loud again and banged on the cage.  Don’t they understand?  I can’t pee in the cage.  I don’t know why but I can’t but I need to go outside now.  But they did not stop the car.  Now my insides hurt more than my head.  I went to sleep.  It is something I do when I cannot tolerate a situation, I sleep through it. 

 My Mother came to me.  I was little again and she gave me milk from her belly and told me I would be alright.  She was warm and comforting and my hurts went away.  She told me to pretend I was not a Shiba, to pretend that I was slow in the head like other dogs and to do what the winery men told me to do.  But you are not slow like other dogs, Inuwaro, she said.  She said to stay alert without appearing so, and look for your chance to escape.  It will come, she said.  You don’t know when, but it will come.  And when it comes, Inuwaro, you will run like the wind in the direction that the opening takes you.  Don’t worry about where you are until you know that you are safe from the bad men.  There are not many packs of bad men, she said.  Your people are good and most people are good and kind to dogs.  People have special powers that we do not have, but they need us and it is our duty to serve them.  But these people are bad and you must get away when you can.  Be patient, Inuwaro, and your chance will come, and you will find your way home.

 The car stopped.  I woke up and Mother was gone.  I miss her now.  I have not thought about her in a very long time.  She was here and now she is gone.  But I remembered her instructions to me.  I had to play along with the bad men and wait for my chance.  If I can get away, then maybe I will not only see my people again but my Mother too.

 We were at a den of the bad men and they let me out to pee.  It was never such a relief.  They made loud noises at me to hurry up but I took all the time I needed and I did not care if they would hurt me again.  But they did not.  They pulled me into their den and put me in another cage.

Some days passed- light, dark, light again and dark again.  They mostly kept me in the cage.  They gave me food and water.  The food wasn’t my food, I didn’t like it  but I ate it.  I knew I would need strength and stamina when I got away from them.  I didn’t know how far I was from home and I never knew if each meal would be my last for a long time.  The water wasn’t my water and it was never enough but I drank it too.

Some days passed.  I was pulled out into a bigger room and there were new people, two big and one small.  The small one was very excited and ran to me.  I ducked and dodged but couldn’t get away because of the leash.  The small one backed off though when I snarled.  I wasn’t really going to bite him but I was scared.  The people made some sounds but didn’t appear to be bothered by my attitude.

 The new people gave the bad men some paper and the bad men gave my leash to the new people who pulled on me and made friendly sounds.  I didn’t fight it- I didn’t like them but they had to be better than the bad men.  I followed them to their car and got in.  We traveled a long time.  I did not like the new people but I felt safe enough to sleep.  It was a long ride and when I get bored sometimes I chew on things.  I went to work on the leash.  At home this would be trouble but no one seemed to notice that I chewed all the way through it.

 We stopped at what must have been their den and my new home.  I was half asleep but more alert than the new people.  When the door opened I jumped out and did not feel the tension of the leash.  Because I chewed through it!  Zoom!  I was out of sight before they could do anything.  I could hear them but they could never catch me.  Where was I and which way was Home?  I did not know.  Then I heard my Mother’s voice “Run, Inuwaro!” and I ran like the wind until I couldn’t run anymore.  When I felt like I had run far enough to be safe from the new people and the bad men for awhile, I stopped to rest.  I rested but stayed alert.  Then I ran some more, and slept, and ran and slept for some days.  I did not know why I ran in one direction but I felt that I was going home, and I kept going.

 There was a whiff in the air of large animals.  I followed it to a barn where very large animals lived.  I was scared but they seemed to be as dumb and harmless as they were big.  I was very tired and found a warm corner to sleep.  When I woke it wasn’t dark anymore and the big animals were being fed by and old man.  Soon he filled a bowl with water and another bowl with something that smelled like kibbles.  Then he left the barn and called ‘Fido, Fido.”  I was gulping clean water and food when I heard the sounds of a big dog coming my way.  Time to go.  I went out the back way as I heard the old man say “Fido, did you eat that already?’

 Again I ran like the wind, not knowing where.  Fido is a dull dog, but he has a dog’s nose and he will find me if I don’t run.  The food wasn’t good, but it gave me new strength and I ran and ran and ran into the forest.  I stopped several times to erase my tracks, then ran and ran some more.

 There was light ahead and I ran toward it.  The light became many lights, the kind that comes from people-dens.  I began to feel safer.  My people were out there somewhere, but there could be more bad people out there too.

I came to the edge of the woods and stopped.  There was a people-den beyond an open field.  I could smell food inside their den.  I wanted to go to it but I was afraid, so I waited at the edge of the woods and fell asleep.

 I was awakened by a noise.  I looked up and it was morning and a man was opening a door and putting something outside.  There was food in it- I could sense that it was not fresh food, but it was food and I was hungry.  I waited but my hunger forced me out of the woods and into the field towards the people-den.  I advanced slowly and was as alert as I could be.  The food was in a bag and not open to the air but the smell was strong and I was drawn to it.  The only other sounds and smells came from inside the people-den.  They didn’t know I was there so this was my chance to get a snack and be on my way.  I bit into the bag but not through it, it was tough.  Then I used my paws to hold the bag and I tore it open.  The smell inside was overpowering.  I dove into it and got a mouthful of I don’t know what, but it was wonderful.  Wait.

 I heard something and at the same moment smelled something foul approaching.  I turned and saw three things that looked like dogs but were not dogs.  They were about my size and if they had been dogs I knew I could handle them.  But they smelled like death and I sensed that they lived by eating small animals, and dogs my size, if there were enough of them.  There were enough of them.

I considered my options.  Run this way or that way?  Not good- I sensed that they were faster than me and experienced at catching their prey- that’s how they lived.  Surprise them and attack?  No, that’s what they wanted.  I was trapped with no way out. 

I heard a scream, sounding like a people scream but I felt it coming from me.  It was a sound I had only made before when I was trapped at the doctor place and getting sharp things poked in me, but this time it was much louder and longer.  Would my mother think me a coward?  I didn’t know but I knew I got this from my ancestors.  The dog-things stepped back and looked unsure.  I sensed that this was my chance to escape but I could not stop my Shiba-scream.  They would recover from their surprise and be on me.

K-BLAM!  It shocked me out of my scream and echoed across the field.  K-BLAM! again and my head rocked.  One of the dog-things lay still and the others were gone.  What was that?  There was an irritating smell in the air- a smell of death made by people, and I sensed that it was done to protect me but it scared me no less.  There was a people voice behind me and turned to see a man holding a long stick that did not come from a tree and had an irritating smoke smell coming from it.  I was frozen in place and he was making friendly noises like my people made.  He wanted me to come to him and I sensed that he would give me something good to eat and maybe bring me into his den to get warm. 

But he still held his K-BLAM! stick and I ran away faster than I have ever run.  I ran into the woods and through things that tore at my fur and scratched my face and hurt my feet.  I fell down and could run no longer.  I crawled under a tree with low branches and fell asleep.

I woke up in the dark.  I was sore all over and my hunger was painful.  This place under this tree would be a good place to stay forever.  Sleep again.  I was home with my people.  It was warm and I had no hunger or thirst.  “Rufey, would you like to go for a ride?”  Playing with my gorilla toy.  Sleeping on the couch.  Awake under the tree.  Wet.  Cold.  Sleep again.  My Mother is here: “Inuwaro, you are tired and cold and hungry, your fur is torn and your feet are bleeding.  Do you still have your nose?”

Awake.  What?  Do I still have my nose?  I can smell the wet dirt and the dead leaves and the tree above.  I can also smell the birds and small animals of the forest, and thankfully no dog-things.  Wait- there is one more smell, not strong but very familiar- it’s home!  Home is a smell made of many smells- it is not close but it is home.  Why did I not smell it before?  The way of the wind? 

Up, first front legs.  Rest.  Back legs up, painfully.  OK.  Shake- no, that would be too painful.  Home smell- it’s still there, far away.  Is it real?  Real or not, under this tree may not be the best place to stay forever.  Go, walk towards the smell of home.  Walk, rest, walk again.  The home smell gets stronger.  Dark again, more lights, more people dens.  Cars with lights going very fast.  When they come I feel the leash pulling me to the grass and I hear “car coming, Rufey.”  I stay out of their way as I follow my nose.  Home is closer.

Things are starting to feel familiar: the road, the people dens- I’ve been here before.  I pick up my pace.  It feels right, if I can just keep going.  This is my territory.  I smell my own scent on things, the scent of other dogs too, but familiar dog scents.  I picked up my pace some more.  Then I ran and ran as fast as I could.  I was going home.

And there it was- home.  Big and warm, but dark.  Did they still live here or would there be more new people?  Does anyone live here?  It’s too quiet and too dark.  I wanted to bark and let them know I was out there but I was too tired.  All I could do was to curl up on the step and hope they would come out.  And I went to sleep.

There was the sound of a car and the thunk of something falling on the grass.  It was the paper thing that they picked up every morning, the one they took inside and unfolded and stared at.  OK, this is good.  I went back to sleep.

The door opened.  I jumped up and barked for joy.  Or that’s what I thought I did.  When he said “Rufey!” and bent down to pick me up I realized that I had not moved at all because I could not.  But it was Wayne and he cradled me in his arms and we were inside and he called for her and she came running and calling my name and crying.  They brought me inside and wrapped me in my blanket and I slept.  When I awoke they gave me water in a cup and fed me bits of food by hand.  Painful and wonderful at the same time.  They took me to the doctor place and I was poked and pricked and irritated but I did not scream- this was part of being home too.

I do not know why the winery men took me, but I sense that it had to do with the council meetings.  The meetings were fun and most of the people enjoyed me being there.  But some of them thought I was a joke on them and they did not like it.  The winery lady especially did not like me, but I did not see trouble coming.  Now that I have learned my lesson, I am happy to be a dog and to do what dogs