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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Photo By Kristi O'Harran Steve Duncan, an extreme animal lover, who works for the Snohomish County Road Maintenance Department, left food and water outdoors for the stray dog for seven years. Kristi O'Harran / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Hobo, the Mountain Loop Highway dog, was finally rescued.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 After 10 years, stray dog finally gets a home By Kristi O'Harran, Herald Columnist Rest easy, mutt lovers. For fretful folks like Steve Duncan, the plight of the Mountain Loop Highway stray dog is resolved. For what local legend says was perhaps 10 years, a homeless canine survived near Big Four's ice caves and was known in Granite Falls as Lucky, Hobo or Roadkill. The stray isn't dodging logging trucks or fighting crows for dinner anymore. A hero rescued the abandoned pooch he calls Hobo. And yes, Hobo is a male, solving at least one mystery about the dog who wouldn't get near humans, but was skilled at dining and dashing. It was Duncan, who works for the Snohomish County Road Maintenance Department, who built a covered pit stop for the mutt along the highway. "I thought somebody dropped him off," Duncan said. "I worried about him all the time." We'll never know who all stopped with kibble and water, but the group included kind hearts who work at the U.S. Forest Service ranger station at Verlot. Road department lead worker Cecilia Leifer said Duncan is an animal angel who feeds and waters wild cats. "He's kindhearted," Leifer said. "Steve is an extreme animal lover." Duncan served with the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam, came back stateside and joined 12 Special Forces B team, Heavy Weapons Sergeant and was one of seven officers in the 1970s who began the Seattle Police Department Mounted Patrol. Hobo was finally caught by animal enforcement officers more than a week ago. Road workers who saw the capture started a frantic phone tree until word got to Duncan, 63, that the dog was heading for the Everett Animal Shelter. The next day, Duncan rushed to the shelter. Hobo was led from his cage, knees locked and dragged across the floor. Then something amazing happened. The ailing dog let Duncan gently lift him into the carrier for the ride home to Mount Vernon. No muzzle was needed. Hobo never snapped. Did he know? The Duncan household includes other rescued pets. His wife, Shirley, who gave Hobo his first home cooked-meal -- pork roast -- said she knows why her husband is such a kind soul. "Because of Vietnam, he stopped hunting," Shirley Duncan said. "He can't save those guys, but he can save animals." Feral cats find food in the carport. Birds choose from a selection of feeders. Happy squirrels munch peanuts. Hobo is temporarily in a large, tarp-covered shelter with clean straw. "I feel bad he is so sick," Duncan said. "He's depressed. He lost his freedom." At the vet's Thursday evening, Hobo was diagnosed with arthritis, worms and a stomach mass. He is thought to be about 10 years old, weights 75 pounds and is possibly a Red Heeler with some Labrador. Duncan will be out almost $700 for medical bills. He received about $100 in donations at work. Eventually, Hobo will have a big yard to play in, but there will be a fence. His nomadic ways are being traded for square meals, a clean bed and soft hands to stroke thick fur. "I intend to spoil him," Duncan said. "Let all the people on the loop know that he is in good hands." Columnist Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.

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