Idaho Public Television comes to the rescue of missing mascot

Idaho Public Television has come to the rescue of Clifford the Big Red Dog and students in Diane Murphy's kindergarten class at North Elementary School.

Clifford is a beloved cartoon character on the PBS channel and a stuffed animal Clifford was a mascot of Murphy's class. But Clifford turned up missing a few days ago when he went home with a student as part of an in-class project where he goes home to visit with children and their families.

During the stuffed dog's recent stay with one child's family, the student opted to bring him along as he and his father walked to the local Albertson's to rent some videos. Tucked into the child's coat­ -- to keep him warm, the student admitted -- the stuffed dog apparently slipped out of his coat and wasn't missed until they returned home.

Diane Murphy shows her kindergarten students the replacement Clifford the Red Dog.

The child and his father retraced their steps hoping to find the elusive mascot but had no luck. But unwilling to give up, the student urged his parents to put out hand-drawn "missing animal" flyers, including one that reached the Mountain Home News, which reported on its website Thursday the effort to find the mascot.

The story was spotted by Ramona Dopps, Idaho Public Television's director of membership and a Mountain Home resident perhaps best known for organizing the annual rodeo in the city that's named after her late son.

She shared the story of the missing mascot with her colleagues.

"I work where Clifford lives," Dopps said. "I knew we had to have some stuffed Cliffords in the building.

"I didn't want those kids to be without a Clifford, so I contacted my fellow employees here to see if there was something we could do about it. Everybody here wanted to find a Clifford to help out."

IPTV graphic artist Lisa Sommer did have her own stuffed Clifford in her office and donated it to replace the missing mascot at North Elementary.

"I was touched by the kid's story," Sommer said. "I was more than happy to part with the one I had for such a good cause."

The replacement pooch was delivered to North Elementary first thing Friday morning by Dopps' husband, Dave.