Rescued: Dog Missing After Crash In Colorado Found After Being Hit By Car
COLLINSVILLE, IL (CBS4/CNN) -- A group of dedicated strangers in Colorado came together to help a 71-year-old man from Maine find his dog. Clyde Simmons crashed in Collinsville and "Goldie," his one-and-a-half year shitzu, took off.
"Goldie fled the scene unfortunately. We think she was really scared and just took off," said Clyde's son, Jason, told KMOV.
Clyde is recovering from his injuries but was heartbroken about his missing dog.
"We shared a hotel room in St. Louis and in his sleep I heard him searching for Goldie if that tells you how much she means to him," Jason told KMOV.
Two local organizations with a mission of finding lost dogs came together to help find Goldie.
"We had two sightings on Friday. So we started in the area of the accident and just worked out from there," said Tina Roe with Min Pin Rescue and Missouri Lost and Found Paws.
They searched the area, posted pictures and created a Facebook page called "Finding Goldie," and left food with cameras nearby.
"Right now, we have six cameras around the area and we intend to place three to four more cameras tonight," said Lisa Lewis with Found a Hound Rescue.
Their dedication to a pet they've never met, and people they don't really know, sends what Jason calls a much-needed message.
"There's still love and caring out there. There's still people willing to dedicate themselves and their time to help a complete stranger and I think people need to know that," Jason added.
On Monday, the "Finding Goldie" Facebook page posted that the missing dog had been hit by a car at Route 111 and Interstate 55/70. The dog was taken to the veterinarian for medical help.
"While Goldie was touch and go last night, her condition has stabilized and she is doing much better this morning," organizers wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. "They cannot see any internal injuries, which is a massive relief for all of us. She does have several pelvic fractures and may have a fractured vertebrae. She has several wounds and is fighting infection. She is alert and trying to move around on her own. The doctor suggested she be taken to VSS for more intensive treatment. If surgery is required, there is no better place for her to be."
Goldie's medical care is estimated to cost around $3,000 and they are asking for donations.
Organizers said Goldie was rescued by two men who helped her after she was hit. They described how it happened:
"Julio Miguel Jimenez was the first person on the scene. He was driving home on 55/70 towards 111 and saw her come out of the weeds on the right so he slowed down. He saw an oncoming car so he stopped his truck in the right traffic lane and was honking trying to alert the car but the car never slowed down. That car hit her and kept going. He stopped traffic to try and get her off the highway and she got up and turned back into the weeds where she came from. He saw exactly where she went in so he went in after her. When he come out of the weeds with her another man was there that had seen her run into the weeds that said he would take her to the vet. He got the info off the tags to call before the other man took her. He called the family to let them know.
"The second man that stopped was Tim Criswell and for whatever reason he never goes home 111 but something told him to drive that way yesterday. He was in the right lane to get off at 111 on 55/70 when the truck in front of him stopped dead in the road so he moved over to the left to go around. As he was pulling around the truck he saw Goldie run into the weeds so he pulled over on the shoulder. He got out and about that time Julio was heading into the weeds after her. Tim took Goldie home to care for her.
"These two men are the reason Goldie is here today. We can not thank them enough for their acts of kindness towards a little dog they did not know."
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