The dog's OK; the students get helped; all is right in the world

Time for a midweek slice of enterprise and kindness, with two happy endings and three iPads.

 • Bonney Melton, 22, and mom Vicki of Tacoma slowed for what looked like an accident Monday afternoon on state Route 16 near Union Avenue.

“Then we noticed there was an older lady with a leash chasing a dog,” Bonney said.

She got out to help catch the Irish setter, who had bolted over a steep berm and into brambles. Her mother, who was not dressed for bermineering, waited by the road.

“This would have been a great time to have a machete in my car,” Bonney thought when she saw the dog lying deep in a thicket.

“I used a stick to press the thorns back,” she said.

By the time she reached the dog, she was past caring about her ruined coat and suede boots.

“I realized it was tangled, with thorns stuck in its hair,” she said. “I didn’t know if it was hit. I just talked to the dog while I worked and prayed ‘Help me, God, to get this dog out of here.’ It never hurts to have extra help from above.”

While she worked, there was, indeed, help in the air above her. Cellphone signals were buzzing about the missing pet.

Jeremy Knapp and his wife, Heather Moroni, had pasted Tacoma’s North End with posters of Zweetie, their Irish setter who had bolted on New Year’s Eve. The Bonney Lake couple had left the dog with Jeremy’s mom, who lives on North I Street, while they went to a wedding.

Zweetie made a break for it.

People who had seen the posters saw the dog on the highway and called Jeremy, who started in from Bonney Lake.

“Somebody called who was at Target and said she saw a dog that looked like ours running under Highway 16,” Jeremy said. “Then we got another call from someone who said they had seen her on the freeway … .

“We were fearing the worst.”

They were driving toward Tacoma while Bonney Melton was freeing Zweetie from the thorns.

“The dog was super sweet,” Bonney said. “She didn’t make a sound. I was able to pick her up and carry her through the tunnel I’d made.”

Bonney carried her to the car. The Meltons figured the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County was closed for the holiday, but they gave it a try.

It was closed, but the woman inside recognized Zweetie as the dog Jeremy Knapp had reported missing. She gave the Meltons the contact number and the I Street information. The Meltons called Jeremy, got no answer, and headed for the Tacoma address.

“This is your fault for having me watch all those Disney movies,” Bonney told her mom.

In Disney’s world – and in Bonney Melton’s – no pet is left in fear and suffering.

“My faith involves having compassion for every living thing,” she said.

For that, Zweetie’s owners thanked her when they met her at the house on I Street.

“I will tell you, my faith in people has really been restored over the last weekend,” Heather said.

 • Here’s one more restorative story.

Fircrest twins Mollee and Josef Cunningham, 8, have autism.

Mollee, who goes to Skyline Elementary School, likes to draw, and to help her brother. He is more seriously affected and attends Franklin Elementary School.

“Well, Mollee drew all over the walls,” said their mother, Julie. “Helpful tips, like ‘light’ with an arrow pointing to the switch, and ‘heater vent.’”

The twins’ mother recently asked Josef’s teacher what the Franklin class needed.

“An iPad” the teacher sighed.

Julie remembered a website called Fiverr.com. Users can buy a service or item for $5.

Julie decided to sell Mollee’s artwork.

So far, Mollee has drawn $400 worth of trees, giraffes, horses and grandmothers. That’s almost enough to cover one iPad with apps for autistic users.

Anonymous donors have given two more iPads.

I wonder if Mollee’s ready to draw a picture of an Irish setter.

Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677 kathleen.merryman@ thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/street