The Newport Plain Talk

(c)2013 NPT PHOTO BY NELSON MORAIS Alex, 13, and Kenzie, 16, are shown with their beloved dog, "Stimpy", at the Sheppards residence on 7th Street, in Newport. Stimpy, who ran away, got hit by a vehicle, and was gone for five days, was returned to her very grateful owners on Dec. 18.

NEWPORT-When "Stimpy" got hit by a passing vehicle on Dec. 13, her owner saw her run off and despaired she would ever return home or be found.

Though Frank Sheppard, his wife Heidi, and his two step kids, Kenzie, 16, and Alex, 13, searched for "Stimpy", she was simply nowhere to be found.

"Stimpy" was their very playful, very friendly black lab/terrier mix they had brought with them from Wrangell, Alaska, last November 2012.

They moved into a modest house on 7th Street, near the Newport Grammar School.

The Sheppards love their dog, and she, in return, "absolutely loves kids. She's a ball of energy (and) a people person. She has to be touching you," says Frank fondly of the family's dog.

For more details, please see the weekend edition of the Newport Plain Talk.