After her roommate came home in tears one day, Brenda Temple soon found herself with a new &uot;furry&uot; companion. Her roommate had found a stray dog that day near Natchez’s Isle of Capri Casino. She had taken the dog to the Natchez-Adams Humane Society but was heartbroken about her decision.

&uot;I said (to her) what do you want me to do — go get the dog? So we got the dog,&uot; Temple said. &uot;I bet we weren’t 10 minutes heading out to the shelter.&uot;

The dog is appropriately named Copper, the boat dog, almost the shelter dog.

Copper was one of many dogs and their owners who competed in Saturday’s Bark in the Park dog show, at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

All proceeds benefitted the Natchez Adams Humane Society on Liberty Road, a place many of the dogs at the show know quite well.

For example, Little Girl spent some time at the shelter while being treated by the Miss-Lou Veterinary Clinic after she was hit by a car.

The shelter staff brought her back to the clinic after they were unable to find a home for her, said Marcey Allen of the Miss-Lou Clinic.

&uot;We just couldn’t get rid of her. She became ours,&uot; Allen said. &uot;She’s like our little clinic mascot now.&uot;

Nan Garrison brought her five dachshunds — four of which she adopted from the shelter — to the show.

&uot;I’m a sucker,&uot; Garrison said about why she adopted so many. &uot;I’ve had dachshunds all my life.&uot;

Because of her interest in the breed, Garrison said she often helps the shelter whenever they receive a new dachshunds.

&uot;I try to place it and if I can’t place, it I end up with it,&uot; Garrison said.

And Tom Rosenblum saved the life of a disabled dalmatian before he ever made it to the shelter.

&uot;He’s deaf so no one’s going to adopt him,&uot; Rosenblum said.

Because Thunder is deaf he can be a real pain to deal with, Rosenblum said.

&uot;You can’t really train (him). It’s hard,&uot; Rosenblum said. The dog knows some hand signals and &uot;at night you use a flash light to get his attention.&uot;

But Thunder surprised his master by winning first place in the &uot;Most Handsome&uot; category.

&uot;They don’t have a most useless (category), &uot;Rosenblum said, with a laugh. &uot;He’s an orphan. He doesn’t have a purpose. He’s just a friend. He’s a friend dog.&uot;

Rosenblum, who also owns two other dogs, said he decided to take Thunder to the dog show, because he was the dog waiting by the door that morning.