Saturday, May 3, 2008

Rex Update

Rex is so patient with Derek. And I just noticed in this picture that Rex's head is almost as big as Derek's upper body!

This is the Salt Lake Tribune article...it is the only way I am able to save it...just in a word document with no pictures. If you want to see the entire article, Just do a search for "Rex" at the Salt Lake Tribune home page at sltrib.com, or cut and paste from the link below. I guess I'll have to keep doing real scrapbook pages still. I took newspapers up to the school yesterday for all of the kids that were mentioned in the article. I am still going to try to scan the article later and see how that looks.

Puppy love: Sandy rallying for Rex
By Steve Koecher
Close-Up Correspondent
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:
Here is the link at the Salt Lake Tribune on line: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9121118?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com


"A special
dog and a special owner have touched their community. Clint Bingham had a dog, Rex, since he was 2. He has grown to love his dog more than anything. The Golden Retriever was a community favorite in his Sandy neighborhood. "It's hard not to smile when you see Rex," said Corbin Robinett, a friend of Clint. Rex loved to play in the water, the snow, go on walks and chase down tennis balls. When running in a dog park Rex tore a ligament in his knee; giving him extreme pain trying to walk. The vet said it would cost $2,200 to operate on Rex. At the same time, the car and the furnace broke and the family had a tough decision to make. They decided they couldn't afford the operation. Clint was heartbroken. He told his grandparents about it on the phone, and they promised to help a bit. Gaining courage, he went into action. He told his classmates his troubles. They got together and decided to run a lemonade stand for Rex. On March 21, Corbin Robinett, Bailey Robinett, Matthew Earl and Clint had the day off from school and used it to full advantage. With a donated lemonade stand, they sold lemonade from morning to evening. Luckily they live near the end of the street where traffic on Sego Lily Drive backs up as the TRAX train passes. The "Help Rex" campaign made more than $182 that day selling Crystal Light and yellow lemonade.

The following Monday they earned another $36.10. Rex wasn't going to sit this one out. He stood by the lemonade stand using his animal charm to attract customers. Often lemonade-purchasers would stop to pet him. The children became really excited when one gentleman donated $20 and later returned to donate $20 more. Other classmates got in the act too. Sammy Rivera, Kelsey Mower and Gwen Jeffries decided they would make cookies. They made $50 selling chocolate and double chocolate cookies in Sammy's front yard. Rachel Bingham, Clint's mom, felt compelled to help as well. Clint went to houses in his LDS Ward taking orders for five types of pies: apple, chocolate cream, lemon meringue and bread pudding. He got 32 orders for pies on the Tuesday before Easter. Rachel spent all Saturday with the help of her sister, Kim, making the pies. Saturday night, Clint delivered the pies. They made more than $900 from donations for pies. Other family members made donations. Cottonwood Animal Hospital set up a donation fund in which Clint's aunts and uncles, cousin and grandparents made donations. The fund even received some anonymous donations. Last but not least, Clint agreed to forgo his allowance for a whole year. With the help of so many individuals, Rex was able to have his surgery and is expected to be his old self in no time. Clint and his friends have learned the value and support of a good community when in need. In addition, with each other's help, they can accomplish big things. "Get out and help your neighbors. You'll want someone to help you when you're going through a tough time," Corbin said. "There are a lot of more important things than saving a dog," said Rachel Bingham. "But for these kids, it's all about learning to serve."

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