Published October 14, 2004 in issue 0341 of the Hook

BY CHRIS GRAHAM

The letters and cards and phone calls were a big part of what pulled Carole Adams through. One letter from Maine had been addressed simply to "Mosby's Mom, Staunton, Va."

"Somehow, some way, that letter got to me. That in itself was amazing," says Adams, whose six-year-old malamute-husky mix, Mosby, a certified therapy dog and downtown Staunton's unofficial goodwill ambassador, was shot and killed last summer by a neighbor in western Augusta County.

Other notes were sent by children who drew pictures of Mosby and by adults who wrote poems. One man called from Arizona after watching a television report on the tragedy.

The death of Mosby made international headlines, as did coverage of the trial of the pooch's killer, James Coleman. Adams told The Washington Post before the trial, "I hate the man for it. He's taken my beautiful boy."

Adams says, "I needed to do something to turn this energy into something positive. I was afraid it was going to consume me, this hatred I felt."

And so she turned back to the support she'd received from well-wishers.

"I thought the best way to deal with this would be to organize a foundation in Mosby's memory to do something to help other animals in need," she says.

The Mosby Foundation will raise money for local and worldwide volunteer organizations engaged in animal rescues. In doing so, it will repeat what Adams did seven years ago when she came across a scared three-month-old puppy abandoned at a Central Florida train station.

"Nothing I do is going to bring him back," says Adams. "But maybe the fact that this story got so much attention will give pause to the next hothead with a gun."

Adams earmarked money donated for her legal expenses to a Mosby Fund and has used it to pay for veterinary procedures for dogs rescued from streets and animal shelters and subsequently placed in adoptive homes. The Mosby Fund will morph into the Mosby Foundation when Adams receives 501 (c) 3 designation from the IRS.

"A lot of organizations are doing great work rescuing dogs and placing them in caring homes, but if they come across animals that need veterinary attention before they can be placed, it's hard for them to pay those bills," says Adams. "In that sense, we're a support group."

To contact The Mosby Foundation, e-mail or write the Mosby Foundation, P.O. Box 218, Deerfield, 24432.

Carole Adams poses with "Willy," a recent rescue who is now up for adoption.
PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

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