The saga of Stormy the puppy saw a happy resolution on Sunday when the dog was adopted in a raffle drawing thronged by eager candidates and the media.
Fort Worth couple Donna and Mike Carruthers won the adorable retriever-terrier mix, who made international news last week after a daring rescue by Dallas Animal Services. Stormy was trapped in a storm drain, and animal lovers followed his rescue on the shelter's Facebook page.
The level of concern rose when the temperatures dipped below freezing. Channel 5 did a story, and the puppy became a media sensation over Thanksgiving weekend, including a feature on the Today show.
The rescue turned into a cross-departmental effort as animal control officers worked with Dallas Fire-Rescue and Watershed Management to retrieve the dog, along with his parents and siblings Sampson and Sadie.
The dogs were living on the property of the Gabe P Allen school in West Dallas, where they'd been fed by a teacher and her son. Dallas Animal Services eventually rescued all five dogs. Deluged by requests to adopt, the shelter decided to hold a raffle to determine who would get to take home the pups.
Shortly after noon on Sunday, three drawings were held, beginning with Stormy. The Carruthers were among the few dozen applicants who submitted their names and showed up at the shelter. Mike said that they hadn't had a dog in a couple of years, but that they had a 3-acre fenced-in yard that Stormy would get the run of.
Sadie went to Evelyn and Danny Guerra of Garland; Sampson found a home with Deanna and Keith Oatman of McKinney.
The two parents are still at Dallas Animal Services. They will become available for adoption after they get a chance to get acclimated to life off the streets.
Stormy the puppy was rescued by Dallas Animal Services.
