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[Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>]

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          WOMAN, 80, PUT OFF GREYHOUND BECAUSE OF BIRTHDAY-GIFT PUPPY
                                       
     woman with dog November 23, 1997
     Web posted at: 6:32 p.m. EST (2332 GMT)
     
     TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- The bus was a Greyhound, but the driver was
     no dog lover.
     
     An 80-year-old woman returning home from her birthday party was
     kicked off a bus at a rural truck stop late at night because of her
     birthday present: a tiny puppy named Cookie.
     
     Dogs aren't allowed on Greyhound and the driver refused to make an
     exception, leaving Antonia Sanabria at the side of the road about 80
     miles from home at 3 a.m. Friday.
     
     A security guard summoned by the bus driver called Marion County
     sheriff's deputies -- adding to her fright.
     
     "When the bus pulled away and I saw all those policemen I was
     scared," Sanabria said. "I thought they were going to put me in
     jail. I don't know, I was crazy with fear. I've never gone to jail."
     
     
     What could have quickly become a terrifying ordeal for the woman,
     who walks with a crutch and has trouble hearing and seeing, instead
     became an inspiration.
     
     After getting her a sandwich and something to drink, police from
     different jurisdictions teamed up to ferry Sanabria all the way from
     the Ocala area to her Tampa doorstep in five different patrol cars.
     
     "I've never seen so many people so nice with me -- an old lady. They
     gave me love, respect, attention," she said. "Love has a lot of
     names -- compassion, respect, friendliness."
     
     As soon as she got home, all Sanabria wanted to do was sleep, which
     she did with her new 7-week-old Pekinese pup.
     
     When she woke up she found a bouquet of roses with a card that read:
     "We want you to know there are still some nice people in the world,"
     from Hillsborough sheriff's deputies in Tampa who coordinated the
     relay.
     
     Greyhound apologized and gave her a refund on Saturday. The
     unidentified driver, a 20-year Greyhound veteran, was suspended
     pending an investigation.
     
     "It's unfortunate that a lady of this age and condition would have
     something like this happen to her in the middle of the night," said
     George Gravley, a Greyhound spokesman.
     
     Sanabria's daughter, Sally Creel of Panama City, was outraged,
     saying: "What a low-life thing to do."
     
     But after the police rescue, her mother was far from bitter.
     
     "It was a birthday I'll never forget," Sanabria said.
     
     Copyright 1997   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
     material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
     redistributed.
     
    
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