DOGGED DETERMINATION!

Loyal Dog Crosses Continent to Get Home

Lost in Indiana, the collie arrives in Oregon to find his home and inspires generations of Americans.

The year is 1923. A large dog scents the air, lifting his nose. Where is his family? The car has left.

Bobbie sniffs the ground. He smells his family members with his keen nose. He begins his journey west.

He will stop at every service station on his way home to Oregon, because that’s where they bedded down — a young mom and his wife, along with two children and Bobbie, their family dog (OregonEncyclopedia.org).

This story is not new. Everyone in our general area knows about Bobbie.

Bobbie’s famous.

It’s a long way home

He trots along roadways and sleeps in ditches, under trees, and in doorways. Westward bound, he scents the ground.

Bobbie eats from garbage cans. He drinks from puddles. Other dogs chase him, and wild coyotes howl at night. He’s only two years old. Just more than a puppy.

Occasionally, a nice lady might help him

He’s such a big, friendly dog. But his eyes are sad.

Bobbie wants to find his people, and he must get home — to Silverton, Oregon, a small town more than 2,800 miles from Indiana. A town where he is now a legend.

Silverton’s community members are fiercely loyal

People I’ve spoken with are open-minded, a trait not always common to small towns. They seem to be happy people living in a beautiful place, willing to “live and let live.”

In the downtown area is a long mural documenting Bobbie, “the wonder dog.”

The community loves him — or at least, the idea of him.

He died nearly a hundred years ago.

Bobbie walked 2,800 miles to get home

One mural in Silverton tells his entire life story, in a chronological set of images. Among scores of murals in Silverton, this one draws the most tourists.

A lifelike statue and a replica of Bobbie’s doghouse are both in downtown Silverton.

How many entire communities celebrate a deceased dog?

For one, Silverton, Oregon, USA

Silverton, Oregon is unique. The Silver Falls State Park is just ten or so miles east, and is the “Crown Jewel of the State Park System” in Oregon. The downtown area, a mix of old-fashioned large brick buildings and colorful storefronts, is a hive of busy activity. Norman Rockwell, an American artist, would have loved it here. The town is awash with color and character.

As a “trail ambassador” (hiking volunteer) at Silver Falls State Park, I spend time in Silverton helping hikers. I’m 61 now, and smile at families shuttling children around, warning them back from the edges of waterfalls.

I grew up visiting Silver Creek Falls with Mom and Dad, and my brother and sister. The nostalgia of childhood exists here for me.

We played in the creek. Mom spread a blue and white picnic cloth on the ground, and we ate juicy wedges of red watermelon with black seeds to spit.

Silverton combines my memories of family, summertime, and family dogs. I grew up near Silverton, and I grew up learning about Bobbie.

Silverton welcomes differences

A tree built of cobalt blue bottles stands in one front yard.

I’ve seen a car with thousands of Barbie dolls glued to it.

Stu Rasmussen, America’s first openly transgender mayor served two terms here. When religious fanatics from the Westboro Baptist church traveled here to protest Stu and his lifestyle, the Silverton community showed up with pickets and chants of their own. Some men wore dresses in support of Stu.

This is a community that welcomes all its citizens, many of whom are eclectic people unafraid to be different.

Difference is welcome. It’s a town without the bigotry and ugliness abundant in other small towns. People smile here. I like to think Bobbie had something to do with it.

In 1923, Bobbie’s owners were on a family road trip

According to the mural, countless articles, and local lore, Bobbie disappeared while his family was traveling. They were in Indiana when dogs at a gas station attacked Bobbie. He ran off, and the family waited and looked for him. After some time they left. They were heartbroken (see source).

In an article in The Statesman Journal about Bobbie, his family returned to the area a month after Bobbie was lost. They were on their way home to Oregon. He wasn’t there.

In the article, we learn he had already begun his return journey to Silverton by that time.

Days turned into weeks

The family arrived back in Silverton.

Bobbie was walking west, looking for home. He searched for his people. Was his family here? No. Keep moving.

Always scenting the air. First, use the family scent at gas stations. Next, move toward the salty smell of the mighty Pacific Ocean. One step at a time.

Officials from the Oregon Human Society researched his journey

They were able to track and confirm Bobbie’s route by the many people who stepped forward to say they had helped Bobbie. Fed him. Tended to his wounds (Oregon Encyclopedia). This information is widely known in Silverton and surrounding areas.

Children tell the story. Their grandparents laugh and add details. Their grandparents learned from their grandparents.

A journey of that magnitude isn’t easy for a dog

Six months after separation from his owners, Bobbie appeared “on the family’s doorstep,” according to a story in the Oregon Encyclopedia

The family was shocked. Bobbie had walked thousands of miles “in the dead of winter.”

Can you imagine the homecoming in 1924?

Here’s how I imagine it.

Mother was in the kitchen, preparing chicken and dumplings. The children were in the backyard, playing on the swing, or spinning colorful tops on a flat piece of wood. It’s February, the dead of winter in Silverton. It snowed last week, but a weak sun shines in the sky.

Father worked on the car, his pride and joy. Not everyone had cars back then.

A dirty, ragged dog — limping and thin — stands at the end of the gravel road, lifting its nose. His fur is ragged and seems colorless. One ear is crusted with blood. Bobbie limps to the doorstep of the family home and whines at the door, as dogs do.

Father hears the shouts of his children

Dad, it’s Bobbie! The children run to their dog. Bobbie lies down, panting a little, but licking their hands. Mother runs from the kitchen with a bowl of water.

The family marvels at Bobbie. They cry, every one of them.

You’re home, Bobbie! you’re home, boy! We’re so sorry, Bobbie…we love you so much. What a good boy! Good boy, Bobbie!

Hours are spent washing Bobbie, tending his wounds, and feeding him little bits of chicken.

He is exhausted, and barely moves for days as he recovers strength.

And how was Bobbie celebrated?

Bobbie was given a hero’s homecoming welcome, and celebrated by the nation.

A much-celebrated dog Bobbie received medals, keys to cities, and a jewel-studded harness and collar. He was the guest of honor at the Portland Home Show, where over 40,000 people came to view him, and he was presented with his own dog-sized bungalow.

Bobbie’s story was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” and Bobbie, a Great Collie, by Charles Alexander. Bobbie played himself in the silent film The Call of the West, a reel of which is in the archives of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library (Oregon Encyclopedia story about Bobbie).

Back in the ’20s, people listened to the radio for entertainment.

Can’t you just see families gathered ‘round the family radio, listening and petting their own family dogs? And then they wrote letters to Bobbie!

The fixation with Bobbie’s story is ongoing

At the local Goodwill store in Silverton a few years back, my husband found a T-shirt with Bobbie’s likeness on it. He purchased it. It’s old and frayed at the collar, but here’s what it says on it:

Be like Bobbie. No matter how far you travel, always come home to Silverton.

Bobbie is famous in our “neck of the woods.”

While we live in Canby, we’re a short drive from Silverton.

Our friends Pam and Brian recently purchased a home there.

Last Christmas, we received a book from them, wrapped in glittery silver paper

The book?

“Bobbie, The Wonder Dog.”

The book is a handsome paperback, with an artistic rendition of Bobbie on the cover. Tricia Brown, the author, researched Bobbie’s story carefully, and conveyed the drama with great emotion, according to the Kirkus review on Amazon (see above link).

Bobbie was different from other famous dogs

Unlike Lassie, a television superstar of the 1960s, Bobbie didn’t “Run! Get help!” as Lassie did (in nearly every episode).

Bobbie didn’t dance on his hind legs in a circle.

Nor did his barks sound like “Hello!”

He didn’t live to be twenty, which would be ancient for a large dog.

Bobbie just wanted to go home.

This is a point emphasized in every article I’ve read about this amazing dog. Have you ever yearned to go home, to a place you love?

My husband Jay and I visited Bobbie’s mural and statue today

First, we stopped off at the statue. I found myself crying. I’m more emotional these days.

We’ve had death in the family, and some weeks back, we lost a family dog.

In Silverton today, I posed with Bobbie’s statue, and Jay snapped my photo

We talked about how kitsch this statue may seem to others. Not to us.

Bobbie is the Wall Drug of Silverton. The Corn Palace. Andersen’s Pea Soup. Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox of the Redwoods. Every roadside tourist attraction you ever visited!

Other tourist destinations have nothing on Bobbie in Silverton, Oregon.

Travelers come to learn about him. He’s famous.

He’s famous because his people in Silverton are loyal to his memory.

Then we meandered down the street to examine the large mural depicting Bobbie’s life

For all the time we’ve spent in this town, I don’t remember paying it such close attention. I notice a lot this time.

• A map shows how far Indiana is from Oregon. Indiana is south of Michigan, my ex’s home state.
• Artwork depicts samples of hundreds of letters people sent to Bobbie and his owners — letters delivered by the US Postal Service from amazed admirers.
• Many painted images of Bobbie are shown: Bobbie scenting the ground. Showing up at home. Being celebrated. There is an image of Bobbie with a bejeweled harness and collar.

Two cars pull up and we meet tourists there to visit the mural

A couple of guys from Missouri traveled in a jeep, with a Lab Retriever and a German Shepherd riding in the back.

The driver is Joel Woodring, and his mom pulls in behind him. She gets out of her car with a Dachshund. They’ve come to view Bobbie’s mural.

Joel from Missouri shares his opinions

I would never have left that dog behind. I would have stayed there until Bobbie returned.

There isn’t much to argue with there. I tend to agree with him. Yet, sources note the family stayed and looked, and also took an ad out in a local paper. Did they do everything they could? I think so. In 2022 our resources are so different.

Nowadays, we have the money and time for staying and searching.

1923, the “roaring twenties,” had just witnessed the end of WWI. I don’t know what the family’s resources were.

Next, Joel shares this:

People who don’t like dogs have a character flaw.

Jay and I know some people don’t like dogs. As for us, we have two Labrador Retrievers we love deeply. My charcoal lab Cinder sneaks onto the leather couch as I write this story. Our yellow lab Tegan’s an old girl at eleven, and she’s in her comfy bed. We are very protective of them, so much so that our travels are limited.

Visiting Silverton means we have four hours, then we have to get home to our dogs.

Jay and I walk up Water Street and head back to our car. We stop in at Red Bench Antique Store. Liz Ellison, the owner’s daughter, chats with me.

“This is a very close community,” she explains, “Everybody knows everybody.”

When I propose my theory about Bobbie and our support of his historical feat, she nods in agreement.

Here’s my spin on Bobbie’s enduring fame

Everyone wants to be home — a place of love, acceptance, and comfort. The Silverton community’s values are perfectly exemplified by Bobbie. Bobbie is all of us, at our very best.

Values we learn from Bobbie include these:

• Home
• Family
• Work ethic
• Loyalty

Children in the community are raised with these values. Bobbie’s legacy is part of the glue that holds this community together.

Just now, I realize one of my favorite old TV shows, “The Wonder Years,” sums up my feelings of why we remember Bobbie.

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose” (Kevin Arnold).

Memories are a way of staying loyal to people — and animals — we love, and who are gone.

We love Bobbie, and we share his values. We never want to lose them.

So we remember Bobbie, and everything he stands for.

We hold on tight and we never want to let go.

Thanks for reading about Bobbie and our beautiful Oregon community of Silverton.

Here are some photos from our drive to Silverton, Oregon on June 17th, 2022.

While I grew up hearing about Bobbie, and he is a local legend, numerous sources were helpful in writing this article. I have linked them throughout the story.