posted April 9 -

When Truman Brown of Beeville slept, Nellie curled up against his legs and slept.

When Truman went outdoors to sit, Nellie went out and sat, too.

And when Truman was ill and moaning in pain, Nellie would stroke her soft face against his.

When you’re 68 years old and disabled, you couldn’t ask for a better companion than Nellie.

But someone took Nellie, and now Truman is alone.

“It feels like I’ve lost my best friend,” said Truman, 68. “She never left my side. If I let her outside, she’d simply sit on the front door mat until I let her back in. If I walked over to the manager’s office, she would walk right next to me and wait at the door until I came back out.”

He and his neighbors believe two strangers stole Nellie one evening two weeks ago.

“He sits outside every night waiting and watching for his dog,” said Truman’s next door neighbor, Jo Holder. “He just sits there, crying. That dog meant the world to him.”

Truman got Nellie from a woman in Normanna four years ago.

He named the Chihuahua-terrier mix pooch, Nellie – Nellie Bell when he was angry at her, which wasn’t often.

Truman and Nellie moved to Beeville four months ago.

They took up residence in Building 7, Apartment 7C of the Beeville Housing Authority, located on East Kennedy Street.

Their next-door neighbors each had small dogs.

Nellie became friends with Jo’s dog, Dixie. Nellie didn’t get along well with Thomas White’s spirited collie-springer mix, Winslow.

“Nellie never strayed, never went far from Truman,” Thomas recalled. “I asked him once about that, why Nellie didn’t need a leash. If I took Winslow off his lease he’d take off running.”

On the evening of Wednesday, March 26, two men knocked at Truman’s door. They’d heard he needed some transmission work done on his pickup truck. They had an old pickup, too, and would exchange the transmissions for fifty bucks, they told him.

Truman invited the two Hispanic men inside.

One of them, who appeared to be in his middle 30s, was taller than the younger one, who appeared to be around 27. They both wore jeans and T-shirts.

Truman believes one of the men’s name was Joe. Truman doesn’t know the man’s last name or the name of the other man or where they live.

Once inside Truman’s apartment, the two men repeated their offer.

Truman thought it sounded too good to be true.

The older man noticed Nellie sitting on the couch.

“He said, ‘That sure is a pretty dog.’ What kind is it,’ and I told him it was a Chihuahua-terrier mix, but mostly Chihuahua,” Truman recalled.

Shortly afterward, the three men walked outdoors to inspect Truman’s truck.

When the men left, Truman went back indoors and noticed Nellie missing, he recalled.

Jo says she saw one of the men leave the home while the other one was inside with Truman.

“One of them, the smaller one, came outside and went to his car and then went back inside the apartment,” she said. “He looked like he was in a hurry. I think he had Nellie with him.”

The two men drove off in a late model Lincoln that was bluish-green in color, Truman said.

They never came back to work on his truck.

Truman reported the incident to police, who said they would investigate the matter.

Jo said she and others in the housing complex searched for Nellie on foot and in their cars, and even posted a notice in the newspaper.

“You can go to the animal shelter and adopt a dog for $35,” Truman said. “I’d give them $35 so they could adopt their own dog if they’d just bring Nellie back.”

Truman said he can’t adopt a new dog. It just wouldn’t feel right.

“It would be like having a strange kid in the house,” Truman said. “I don’t want another dog, I want Nellie.”

Jo said she misses Nellie, too.

“When Dixie comes outside the first thing she does is look over at Truman’s door for Nellie,” she said. “She misses playing with Nellie.”

Anyone who may know who took Nellie is encouraged to call Jo Holder at 358-2531 or the Beeville Police Department.