DECATUR - Always a runner, Mattie is sure to be galloping again before long.

Mattie is a 2½ -year-old, brown, medium-size, Boxer-mix dog who also answers to "Amazing Mattie" and "Miracle Mattie."

Hit or knocked off a Decatur railroad trestle across Stevens Creek, Mattie survived a 50-foot drop and is slowly regaining mobility.

Here's the story:

Mattie is Amanda Evitt's dog. Amanda, about to be married, moved to the East Kenwood Avenue area with Mattie. On May 31, Mattie escaped through an open back door. She was seen heading into a wooded area at St. John's Lutheran Church.

The Evitt family, led by Amanda's parents, John and Beverly, assembled a search party and kept at it until 9 p.m. No Mattie. It would be a week later before Mattie surfaced.

Mattie apparently was trying to return to her old home off Arbor Trail and was trapped on the trestle. Either the train hit Mattie or Mattie jumped over the side. This would have been June 5.

The next day, Mattie was spotted in the bush below the trestle as the train headed back to Decatur. Mike Skorzak of Heyworth, the conductor, called the Decatur Animal Control and Care Center and said the dog was alive.

Roy Austin and Lonnie Trelz responded, climbed down the steep incline, administered a tranquilizer and hauled Mattie on a stretcher to safety. Mattie's back end was paralyzed.

The animal shelter notified Irene Peterson of the Humane Society of Decatur and Macon County. Peterson had Mattie taken to the Northgate Pet Clinic as the Evitt family assembled to greet the long-lost animal.

Although Mattie appeared to be in poor condition, miraculously, there were no broken bones. "A guardian angel was watching over her," Beverly Evitt suggested.

The University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Urbana was suggested by a friend. Beverly and John loaded Mattie in the car and took off.

At the hospital, Mattie was found to have a fractured vertebrae in the back. Surgery? "Do it," the Evitts told Dr. Kathleen Ham.

Afterward, Mattie had eight pins and 36 staples in her spine. The hospital's Erin Long provided daily recuperation reports.

On June 14, Mattie was back home. A week later, the staples were removed. "She's doing well; she is able to stand; she can walk a bit on her own," Beverly Evitt said.

Meanwhile, Irene Peterson is planning to award three "hero" plaques - to Mike Skorzak, Roy Austin and Lonnie Trelz, instrumental in the rescue.

"So many people helped," Beverly Evitt said, "especially Irene Peterson. We've obtained Mattie and three other dogs from Irene. She's the best."

Mattie's hospitalization has cost thousands of dollars. "She's worth it, she's part of the family," Beverly Evitt said.

Bob Fallstrom can be reached at bfallstrom@herald-review.com or 421-7981.