‘If you’re afraid of ghosts, you can’t go in because you can’t see anything. But we’re used to it.’
Cross-breed Stormy wins medal, lots of love
BHOOMIN SAMANG, Thai ‘Indiana Jones’ diver
ADOG called Stormy has been awarded a medal after completing a halfmarathon in outback Australia and winning the hearts of its human competitors.
The cross-breed diligently ran the 21km Goldfields Pipeline Marathon near the western town of Kalgoorlie this month in 2½ hours, the average time of participants.
“People were amused. It was a very friendly dog. Prior to the half-marathon, he was going around saying hello to people and when the race started, he took off with them,” race organiser Grant Wholey said yesterday.
“At the race stations, he was having a little runaround and saying hello to the volunteers and participants, and then he would team up with another runner and keep on following the crowd.
“He was just out there having a trot through the bush and enjoying people’s company.”
Wholey said the black-andbrown canine came from a nearby Aboriginal community where school teachers said it was known to locals as Stormy.
Race organisers were told it belonged to the community rather than a single owner, and the 1year-old was impounded by rangers when no one claimed him after the race.
Wholey said he visited Stormy last week to award a participation medal in the hope the publicity would see an owner come forward.
If not claimed in a week, the dog would be put up for adoption with some runners keen to take the pooch home, Wholey said.
While Stormy did not appear to have the traditional physical attributes of a marathon runner and had “legs as long as a Basset Hound”, he endeared himself to everyone, Wholey added.
“He looks a really friendly, lovable dog. He’ll make a good companion.”