Mr-Meteorite
Adventures in Meteorite Hunting
"Hopper" the only meteorite finding dog in the world!
Read "Hopper: A Dogs Tale" in the May, 2009 - Meteorite Magazine!
Hopper on the cover with my friend Rob Wesel Rob and Hopper
The Only Meteorite Finding Dog In The World!
On Wednesday February 18, 2009 Hopper was in deep trouble! Her owners Mitch Bynum and Pauline Alligood were set to “get rid” of the one-time stray dog that had become a problem. Mitch and Pauline’s neighbors were tired of her antics too. One farmer even confessed to shooting at Hopper when he caught her chasing his cattle – all this just one day before I arrived in the small town of
Discovering “Hopper” The Meteorite Finding Dog.
It was late when I reached
Upon arriving in West, Steve – who had arrived the previous day – explained to us where meteorites had already been found. Right away Sonny and I began knocking on doors to try and obtain permission to hunt the property of many of the local residents. Meanwhile, Steve left to try and locate meteorites near the outer limits of the strewn field.
Above - Ruben Garcia and Hopper sandwiched between Pauline Alligood and Mich Bynum (Hopper's former owners)
Hopper is the only Meteorite Finding Dog in the World! There is no other documented case in all history of any animal finding a meteorite and returning it to its owner. Hopper is definitely one of a kind.
Sonny approached a white mobile home and immediately noticed a nice meteorite sitting on the wooden porch. He knocked on the door for a minute or two and when no one answered walked away leaving the meteorite where it sat.
My phone rang, “Ruben, did you see that meteorite on the porch?” Sonny said. “What do you mean?” I asked. “There is a nice stone on the porch, and it’s just sitting there.” Sonny explained. “Sonny, do you want to buy it?” I asked. “I don’t buy meteorites when I can find them,” He proudly declared.
Video Below- "Hopper" in the News
Within minutes I had flagged down a neighbor’s passing car and sheepishly asked if they could tell me who lived in the house. Pauline Alligood was the answer they gave. Before I knew it the kind passers by even gave me Pauline’s work address and phone number.
I called Pauline and asked if she knew that there was a meteorite on her porch. “What, that black rock that Hopper brought up and dropped on the porch is a meteorite?” She said. “Hopper?” I asked. “Yes,” She explained, “Hopper is a stray dog that we took in a few weeks ago.”
Video Below - About "Hoppers" Meteorite find!
After realizing that I had inadvertently discovered the only meteorite finding dog in history, I raced over to do a short interview with Pauline as well as try to buy the stone. Pauline was not ready to sell, so an hour later I was back out in the field looking for those hard to find black stones that only a few days earlier were speeding towards our tiny blue planet.
The next day I told my friend and fellow meteorite hunter Rob Wesel about Hopper. Robs website -Nakhla Dog Meteorites - is named after a dog and so not surprisingly he was very interested in purchasing the stone. We put our heads together and soon after he and I did (after much negotiation) finally buy the “Hopper Stone”. Months later I was also able to buy Hopper! In the end I guess you could say that “the dog saved the meteorite and the meteorite saved the dog!”
Ruben Garcia and Hopper Rob Wesel and Hopper
Click here to read another article about Hopper in Rock and Gem Magazine
