ON THIS DAY when the foot- ball Cowboys and Redskins battle for a season-saving victory, I turn to a different sort of battle, a frantic, week-long, night-and-day search mounted by a kind-hearted Westmoreland man to find his beloved pet.
The animal in question: a white terrier-mix pooch with one black eye, one black ear and an almost human way of reading people. He answers to the name of Cowboy.
Though the search from King George to Westmoreland took place awhile back, it's worth recounting because of the amazing dedication shown by Cowboy's owner, Larry Hinson of Montross.
On the Monday morning when the trouble started, Hinson didn't have a clue trouble was coming.
Living on several acres near Montross, he and his wife, Peggy, work closely with the Northern Neck Humane Society and other groups to provide homes for dogs.
They now have 17, and Hinson is quick to point out that Cowboy is the leader of the pack.
Because of that, Hinson preferred to take the dog to work with him at the Dahlgren Navy base. That left the other dogs less likely to get into mischief.
And besides, Hinson and Cowboy had been riding buddies for so long that the pup jumped in whenever the truck started.
But on that Monday, things didn't go smoothly after Hinson left Cowboy in his parked truck with a window cracked to provide fresh air.
Test firings nearby must have spooked the pooch, who squeezed through the window and fled.
When Hinson checked on the dog later, the truck was empty. Frantic, he immediately spread the word that the dog was missing.
Several people had seen the dog running nearby. But a search of the base and nearby neighborhoods turned up nothing.
Later in the day, a guard at the main gate told Hinson that a dog matching Cowboy's description had been seen going through the gate and heading down Dahlgren Road at a run.
Hinson spent the whole night canvassing neighborhoods.
According to Peggy Hinson--who also works on the Dahlgren base--her husband came home that second night "feeling depressed and dejected, fearing the worst."
For the next several days and nights he used every spare minute to continue the search, in his truck, on foot and on a bicycle, pulling down every road he passed.
Trying to widen his search, Hinson spread word of the missing dog on local radio stations and through "lost dog" posters distributed in a 40-mile radius.
For several days: nothing.
And then on Friday, five days after Cowboy's flight, a call came of a sighting near Dahlgren.
That prompted more frantic searching by Hinson, to no end.
The following day, the longtime Dallas Cowboys fan got word of a sighting near Index, more than 20 miles from Dahlgren.
Hinson was skeptical at first about whether the dog seen was really Cowboy, because it was so far away, with four heavily traveled roads to cross and dense woods to get through.
But after meeting the caller to get more details, the description of his pup was so exact that Hinson became convinced it was Cowboy, who ran off soon after being sighted.
The next day, word came of another sighting, this one in Westmoreland County close to Berry Farm Road.
Each report prompted extensive searches by both Hinsons, as well as friends and others who added their own resources to help.
Finally, on that Sunday, Hinson received a call from a resident of Index who said Cowboy was there right then in his back yard.
Even though the caller approached the pup with a peace offering of raw steak, Cowboy spooked and ran into the woods.
The rest of the weekend, the Hinsons ventured down every side road between Index and Berry Farm Road, to no avail.
Leaving that Sunday night, the couple tried one last tactic, parking the pickup truck Cowboy viewed as a second home near the spot in Index where the dog had been seen.
Dejected, Hinson took off from work the next day and returned to Index to resume his search.
Stopping first at his truck, he was overjoyed to find a scared, slightly thinner, but otherwise safe and sound Cowboy, curled up on the front seat.
The Hinsons gave a $100 reward to youngster Bobby Minter of Index, who also spent countless hours looking for the pup.
And they want to thank everyone who joined in the search. They both firmly believe that their loyal dog returned to Index after picking up their scents.
"He came back to look for us, while we were looking for him," said Hinson. "It felt good just to take him home."
To reach ROB HEDELT: 540/374-5415 rhedelt@freelancestar.com