Hambone is home! | Photo courtesy Eric Leemon

Amazing, right? The little dog that became our Hambone was found - safe and sound.

Here's the email that went out to Hambone followers last night. Read on:

Dear Friends,

At 9:50pm this evening I received a call from someone who saw the Craigslist posting about Hambone. He said that two days ago he was jogging along the LA river in Studio City, and there was a dog, by himself, that was friendly and started running with him. The dog had no collar. So he took him in, fed him, and took care of him. Tonight, as he was surfing the web, he ran into the Hambone info, and he gave me a ring. "I'm not sure, but I think I may have your dog here... he's an awesome dog... very gentle... black body, white head, white socks..." I asked him about his eyes... "different colored eyes..." he said. I asked "what about the tail?" He said it's black. And when I asked about the tip of the tail, he said it had a little white tip... "I'll be there in twenty minutes", I told him. Lisa and I jumped in the car, grabbed my friend, and hightailed it over to his house. I approached with caution, not knowing what to expect, but I had a feeling. The 20'ish kid, Damien, opened the door and greeted me with a smile. He showed me into his house, and had me wait in the living room while he went to get the dog he had rescued. I was so anxious, so anticipatory, so hopeful, so scared... he opened the door, and brought out this little black dog with a white head. It took about half a second for it to register, but it was him... HAMBONE. I dropped to my knees and broke down. He walked over to me as if to say, "what up?" That was it... nothing dramatic. Nothing Romantic... just "what up?" He licked me on the face, and we said hello, like two friends that hadn't seen each other in six weeks. Well, at least that's how he said hello to me. Me? I was a little more enthusiastic. Damien, had said that Hambone was a pleasure to have around the house, and that he was actually a bit sad to see him go. But the genuine look of happiness to see that he had reunited me and Hambone was astounding. He was beaming with pride in knowing that he had done such a good thing. And, so far as the reward is concerned, it couldn't be going to a better guy. Damien was a professional track and field athlete, until a while ago, when he was hit by a car (hit and run) that left his right femur shattered. His track career over, Damien had to move back in with his parents, and now has $50k in medical bills to pay off.

So now I'm sitting here on the couch with my boy, and all I can do is shake my head in amazement, while he sleeps soundly next to me. It's been a hell of a month and a half. And I've learned some extremely valuable lessons.

1) NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR DOG TIED UP AND UNATTENDED
2) PEOPLE ARE GOOD
3) THE UNIVERSE IS AN AMAZING SYSTEM
4) HARD WORK, SMART IDEAS, STRONG BELIEF, PERSISTENCE, AND A WHOLE LOT OF ASSISTANCE CAN HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING.
5) NEVER, EVER, NEVERNEVEREVERNEVER, LEAVE YOUR DOG TIED UP AND UNATTENDED
6) FAITH IS A POWERFUL TOOL

So thank you... thanks to all of you... Thanks to Chris Derose and everyone at Last Chance for Animals, Minnie Driver, all of the news outlets that shone a light on the problem of dog theft, everyone who said a kind word, kept an eye out, thought a prayer, offered a suggestion, lent time and effort, volunteered resources, gave me a hug, spoke words of encouragement, kept me focussed on the days when I was overwhelmed, sent light and love to Hambone and me... and thank you to Damien for taking care of my boy, and thank you to the Universe for delivering my best friend back to me safely. I am happy. I am blessed to know each of you.

Now on to lighter fare... Next Saturday, March 29th, from 1pm to 3pm, we are inviting everyone to come out and meet the little fella that you've worked so hard to bring home. The Hambone Meet and Greet will take place at Hambone's favorite place on Earth... the Lake Hollywood Park, on Canyon Lake Drive in Hollywood. We hope you can all make it so we can thank you in person.

With Love,

Eric