Story has warm, fuzzy ending

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

WAHIAWA — The story of the little lost dog from Kane'ohe turned into a "blessing" for the girl who gave him back, then found a puppy to call her own.

Eliciya Walters, who gave up a puppy when she learned it belonged to someone else, got a new dog — a 9-week-old female Jack Russell terrier — from a woman who wanted to recognize her selfless act. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Last month, Eliciya thought she had found the dog of her dreams when a woman in the parking lot of the Hawaiian Humane Society handed her and her mom, Cecilia, a 12-week-old Jack Russell terrier. Eliciya named him Lucky.

But three days later, her grandmother, Annie Borden, read in The Advertiser that a couple from Kane'ohe had lost that very dog. Eliciya tearfully returned the dog, named Zeus, to his happy owners, who had worried about his life-threatening heart condition.

Cecilia Walters — a single mother of five who shares a home with her mom and her four youngest children — said Eliciya knew she did the right thing but still shed some tears. The girl's kindness and honesty inspired others who heard the story.

Deanna Wallace, of Ma'ili, called The Advertiser to say that her 12-year-old daughter, Rebecca, wanted to donate one of their five dogs to Eliciya. The families met, and the dog went home with the Walterses. It turned out to be a bit too frisky for them, but just right for a family friend.

Borden said her granddaughter went back to waiting. She had been looking for a dog for more than a year. Even Eliciya was wondering if it wasn't meant to be. "I was this close to saying, 'Just get a hamster already,' " Borden said.

Then a Kailua woman e-mailed The Advertiser offering another dog. Nancy Miyasato-Kaya wrote: "I would like to bless the little girl in the article, Eliciya Walters, with a puppy from my litter. Can you please have her parents contact me?"

Miyasato-Kaya was just wrapping up the vet checks of her litter of five 9-week-old Jack Russell terriers when she heard about Eliciya. "What that little girl did was so brave," she said. "You just don't see that very often nowadays. I thought I just wanted to reward her for her compassion and honesty."

Miyasato-Kaya picked out a female puppy to give to Eliciya, bigger and fluffier than the rest, with one blue eye and one brown eye. When Eliciya saw her, she said, "This is the cutest puppy I have ever seen."

At home with the Walterses, the dog is getting to know everybody. The pup, who has black and white spots, wiggles happily, snuggling on a couch with Eliciya and playfully nipping at the nose of her 14-year-old sister Melissa as the two tussle on the carpet.

Miyasato-Kaya knows that she could have sold the pup for hundreds of dollars. The lowest listed price in last Sunday's classified ads for a Jack Russell was $625. But she felt that she wanted to share the dog with the little girl with the big heart. "I want people to know that it does pay off to be nice," she said.

On the ride home with the dog, Eliciya told her mom she wanted to name the dog Blessing. "The way I got her really was a blessing," the girl said.

Cecilia said she's not a particularly religious person yet felt the name Blessing was just right. "Everything happens for a purpose," she said. "It really renewed my faith in the kindness of people."

The Walterses know. They started out Lucky and ended with a Blessing.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.