The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

"Hello, my name is Ruffy, and I need your help. My owners accidentally drove off and left me behind at a trash dumpster. I tried to follow their vehicle as long as I could, but I just could not keep up with them. I am sure they must be looking for me now, so I am just waiting at the dumpster for them to come back and get me. I sure miss my family and my home. It is very scary here all alone!"

"Some good Samaritans came and left some food and water for me, but it is gone now, and I am so hungry. I have been trying to find something to eat in the ditches and along the side of the road. But I was almost hit by a passing vehicle, and now I am too scared to look for something to eat."

"I had to sleep in the rain last night, and I am so cold! I want to go home. I have been a faithful companion to my family, and I can't understand why they don't come back for me. But I will just stay here and wait and wait, because I am Man's Best Friend, and I will remain loyal to my family forever."

Please, folks, do not abandon your animals at county dumpsters or along the highways. It is just plain cruel to do that to one of God's creatures.

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Happy birthday this week to: Scotty Larisey, Valerie Hall, Georgia Lee Dudley, Jackie Burke, Lisa Williams, Dallas Washburn, Daniel Rhodes, Mike Reeves, Sarah Moncrief, Dale Wiggins, Jodi Thomas, Nathan Johnson, Edgar Miller, Stanley Thompson, Edwin Taylor, Louise Felburg, Elizabeth Daniel and Gladys Parrish.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Ray Miller, Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Kent and Mr. and Mrs. Jody Bowers.

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Military Active Duty List: Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Bahrain; PV2 Ashley Clifton, U.S. Army, Yongsan, Korea; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Ali Al Salem AFB, Kuwait; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, Camp Taji, Iraq; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; LCPL Dwain "Cade" Lee, 1st Marine Division Combat Service Support Group II Security Element, ArRamadi, Iraq; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.