Talk about one lucky dog.
"The dog survived being wedged into the front grille of a car while the driver drove through two states.
"When
I went to pull her out realized part of the reason she was stuck was
because she was gripping her paws around the inside of the bumper
holding on for dear life," said East Providence Animal Control Officer
William Muggle.
The ordeal started ten days ago on Route 44 in Taunton, Massachusetts.
A driver said he saw the dog running in the road.
The driver hit the brakes, then tried to avoid hitting the dog, and thought he had.
When he looked around the car he didn't see the dog anywhere.
Unknown to the driver, the dog was wedged into the front of the car.
"The
gentleman then kept driving, through four towns, some 11 miles before
he was finally stopped at an intersection and someone spotted the dog,"
said Muggle.
The intersection was in East Providence.
He immediately drove to the police station, where animal control had her checked out.
After a one night hospital stay they say she's fine."
That's a pretty cool story, right?
Until you read the follow up about the owner.
Suzie, the poodle mix that was hit by a car and driven for 11 miles wedged in the front of the vehicle, is happy to be home. But her owners are taking steps to ensure a similar incident doesn’t happen again.
Suzie was injured but is now “back to her usual self,” owner says. (East Providence Animal Control Center)
“She was gone and I couldn’t find her anywhere,” said Suzie’s owner, Peter, who did not want his last name published. “They do move fast.”
Peter had let the 6-year-old poodle mix out in the backyard of his Dighton home on Sept. 20. He said he got distracted a bit and when he went to let Suzie back in, she was nowhere to be found.
“She dug a hole up under the fence,” he said in a telephone interview. “She digs from time to time. She’s dug out once before and got out.”
He contacted animal control services in Dighton and Rehoboth the next day but heard nothing until a friend of his saw Suzie on the 11 o’clock news, Peter said.
He went to the East Providence Animal Control Center to pick Suzie up and said she was very excited to see him.
Wait a minute? This darling poodle cross has dug out of your yard before? And instead of taking measures to prevent a tragedy *before* it happens, you allow it to continue to happen again and again, until the dog manages to hitch herself a ride?
These owners are damned lucky the dog is not dead.
Look people - animals are your responsibility. That includes having a safe place for them to live. It's YOUR responsibility to make sure your animal cannot escape his or her enclosure, both for their safety and for the safety of the public.
The owner says they are making adjustments to their home, including,
“My kids are going to walk her,” he said.
He also plans to set up a dog run using a long leash and clothesline
so that Suzie can dig all she wants without escaping the yard.
Gee, nice. And even then, I wouldn't mind so much except for...
He asked that Suzie’s fans donate to the East Providence Animal Control Center to help defray the cost of her vet bills.
Are you fucking kidding me? YOUR dog got out of YOUR yard and was hit because of YOU. No one should be paying for this animal's medical bills except YOU. Take responsibility for your actions, for fuck's sake! If you can't afford to pay for it, then it's time for your little dog to go to a home that can actually care for her.
It only takes a second folks - my dear employer hit a dog last weekend. It ran right out in front of us from it's home right on the highway. Instantly killed. Is it really that hard to ensure that your pet is contained and unable to run out into the road, ending his life, breaking your heart, and upsetting the poor folks who had the misfortune of hitting your pet?
