Hound Homecoming
All’s well that ends well, even if there’s some heartache – not to mention a few tick bites – along the way.
“He went berserk. He jumped on us and was crying – you know how they kind of cry – and just went crazy,” said William Baker of his good friend Didas, a long-lost rat terrier. “He got a few ticks, but he’s doing fine. He’s been sleeping most of the day.”
Didas escaped from Baker’s car after an accident near Souhegan High School in Amherst two weeks ago, wriggling out of a firefighter’s arms and then defying the efforts of a half-dozen onlookers to catch him. The speedy, 22-pound terrier raced off while Baker was being treated, and distraught family members had returned to the area every day since, looking for him.
“We kept going. My son and I were out the other day, and my daughter went out just about every night,” said Baker, 71, of Nashua, who wasn’t harmed in the accident. “We didn’t give up, that’s for sure.”
Didas, whose name was given by Baker’s grandchildren in reference to the sports brand Adidas, might have remained lost, except that Baker’s daughter, Debbie Archambault, took the story to The Telegraph. After a front-page story that was picked up by The Associated Press, the family started receiving tips.
“We had to go to lots of different places. Somebody saw him going down the highway, then down near where the tollgate is in Merrimack,” said Baker. “We didn’t know where the heck to go looking.”
Then, on Sunday night, they got a phone message from Rod and Lynn Spencer, who live on Cota Road in Merrimack, about 5 ½ miles from Souhegan.
“The light went on outside, it’s on a motion detector, and my wife looked out and saw the back of a dog sticking out from behind the car,” said Rod Spencer. “It was enough for her to recognize him from the picture (in The Telegraph).”
ated Press, the family started receiving tips.
“We had to go to lots of different places. Somebody saw him going down the highway, then down near where the tollgate is in Merrimack,” said Baker. “We didn’t know where the heck to go looking.”
Then, on Sunday night, they got a phone message from Rod and Lynn Spencer, who live on Cota Road in Merrimack, about 5 ½ miles from Souhegan.
“The light went on outside, it’s on a motion detector, and my wife looked out and saw the back of a dog sticking out from behind the car,” said Rod Spencer. “It was enough for her to recognize him from the picture (in The Telegraph).”
They went outside and started calling Didas but he ran off, said Spencer, so they called Baker’s number, saying they “saw a little white dog . . . about the right size.”
That was enough for Baker and family. They headed north, and soon Didas was in his owner’s arms.
“He lost about 2 pounds,” Baker said of the formerly 22-pound Didas.
Spencer guessed that Didas may have followed the Souhegan River, which runs next to the high school and behind his home.
Didas has long ridden in the car with Baker, with his collar attached by a short lead to the passenger seat.
Didas’ collar broke in the Nov. 30 accident, which left Baker’s car on its side, leaning against a tree; otherwise, the dog wouldn’t have escaped.
Still, Baker says he’ll be more careful on future drives.
“He has always gone with me. He loves to go,” Baker said.
