Party planned for rehabilitation of bruised frank

From staff reports
Published: May 13, 2008

An Earlysville grocery store’s anthropomorphic frankfurter mascot may have been finally returned to his owner, but he is not in good shape.

Harry the Hot Dog, a 6-foot, 200-pound cartoonish hot dog mascot for All Good Groceries, was stolen April 9. He was found last week, albeit severely damaged, and radio station 101.9 is hosting a fundraiser Saturday to restore him.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward Harry and the University of Virginia’s Children’s Hospital. The radio station will host the event outside All Good Groceries from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, including a slide and the sale (of course) of hot dogs. Chestnut Grove Baptist Church will be providing musicians and a children’s scavenger hunt.

Albemarle County police discovered Harry buried in a wooded area adjacent to the Cedar Hill Mobile Home Park off U.S. 29 north of Charlottesville last week.

“He was buried alive,” the store’s owner, Josh Blanthorn, has said. “Thankfully, he has been rescued.”

Over the 27 days that Harry the Hot Dog went missing, the grocery store obtained a 2-foot replica. The mini-me version of Harry was dubbed “Little Frank,” the elder hot dog’s son.

Little Frank held a sign for weeks that asked, “Have you seen my daddy?”