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Eventually, we found the original story in a Google cache of a webpage that has disappeared into cyberspace. It was written by Warren Debrell Bonner, who, we found after further research, was born in Sweetwater, Texas, and now lives in Orange, California, where he celebrated his 80th birthday on August 26. His original story urged his readers to forward the tale about the man and his dog to their friends. It was posted in Fido News on August 26, 2002. Here's a transcript of the story, with its original headline and Bonner's brief but important footnote shown in red italics:
We found Bonner's email address, and asked him about the now-famous but rarely attributed story. He replied, "I don't know who wrote the first part of the article on heaven. I only attempted to get my readers to understand these parables in real life. "I resigned the editorship of Fido News because I was going blind and could not see what I was doing." Bonner told us. "I have since had operations on both eyes and now wish I could have my age operated on! I can see well, but the 80 years are pretty heavy." A check of earlier issues revealed that Bonner often wrote most of Fido News, and at one stage was its editor. "Fidonet in the ‘80s was the beginning of the Internet," he said. "In the ‘80s they were twins, but the internet took off in the mid ‘90s and dwarfed Fidonet, because Fidonet had such restrictive basic guidelines. It is still a viable web around the world for those interested in life and happiness in communication without the spam." He told us that shortly after posting his last article, he had been rushed to hospital. "Thank God for the veterans' clinics and hospitals," he said. "I've had both knees replaced, and recovered from a heart attack. Now I have new lenses in both eyes. Life is good again at 80." Does anyone know who wrote the original story about the man and his dog? If so, please let us know!
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