A New Friend for Newsome
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In April 2025, the school year was quickly winding to a close, with Georgia Milestones testing and preparations for end-of-year events underway. Everyone was eager to get home–both for the day and for summer vacation just weeks away. But something else was out of the ordinary on campus. Amid the familiar bustle of dismissal, students, teachers, and other staff began to take notice of a tall, black dog standing inside the bus circle. With an air of both curiosity and longing, she scanned the faces around her, as if searching for a familiar presence. But who? Perhaps her previous owner was a bus driver, or she knew school-aged children.
She posed no threat, bothering no one except to bark indiscriminately. The dog followed the buses from the middle school to the high school. After reaching ACHS, she continued along the route to the transportation department.
What was first regarded as a funny sight soon became an everyday occurrence. Oddly enough, the other vehicles in the parking lot were ignored altogether, but the stray changed direction at each passing bus as if searching for the one assigned to her.
Pets have distinct personalities and hobbies of their own, and it’s not uncommon for canines with an affinity for running to chase vehicles down the roads where they live. But this animal’s style of running more closely resembled Forrest Gump than any orthodox fitness routine. “She was practically foaming at the mouth trying to keep up with this bus,” said driver Randy Newsome. Newsome has seen a lot in his seven years of driving busses, but he’d never encountered an animal with such a peculiar interest in his line of work. Before long, she was running from one end of the county to another, up and down US-1 spanning from Altamaha to the Spring Branch and Ten Miles communities, only tiring momentarily to pick up the pace at each red light.
As April turned to May with no leads on a prior owner, it seemed as if the school district might have a new mascot. Photos of the dog circulated on Facebook for weeks, with hundreds of likes, shares, and comments. Some think that she was first spotted in the Red Oak area. Animal lovers online gave their best rescue advice, suggesting possible shelters and offering assistance with supplies like food or dewormer. Some pleaded against sending her to a shelter and even offered to keep the dog if it could be captured. Many attempted to do so themselves, to no avail. One person from the community was reportedly bitten after getting too close. “I don’t know how many miles she ran in ten weeks,” Newsome mused.
Eventually, it was Newsome’s bus she chose to follow. She finally followed him to his house, sitting under the bus where it was parked in his yard. Newsome tried all weekend to lure her onto the bus with some food, but was also unsuccessful.
To call her, he would have to give her a name, so he decided to call her Stormy. The dogs in Newsome’s neighborhood all seemed to understand basic commands and English words, but she didn’t acknowledge him at all. At first, he thought she was deaf, though he later reasoned perhaps her acquired training faced a language barrier.
With some help from Josh and Lydia Stone, they set up a foot trap that he was assured wouldn’t harm the animal. Several hours later, he heard a commotion from the site of the trap, and was finally able to rescue his new charge. “She’s the friendliest dog now,” he says. “I think she’s a miracle dog, myself.”
After weeks of touring Appling County, Stormy is now putting on weight and receiving lots of love at her new home from her new owner. Newsome has kept her contained in a small pen at his house, but knows he will need to upgrade it over the summer before the new school year. Even from the confines of her new home, she remains aware of each passing bus.
