Dogs Lost During Traffic Accident Returned To Warsaw Family
August 4, 2016 at 5:59 p.m.
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An Ohio community came together and rallied around the family to help them find their two 4-year-old female Bluetick Beagle dogs, “Bella” and “Ruby,” who are sisters.
The dogs were scared and ran away from the accident scene following the crash.
Brian, 53, and Kim, 52, were travelling July 6 in their 40-foot motor home to Bloomsburg, Pa., with a trailer carrying an ATV and Brian’s race car and equipment in the trailer for a racing event Brian was going to compete in. They never made it to the race.
Their motor home, ATV, race trailer were totalled, and Kim broke her back in two places. Tools, spare parts, jacks and batteries flew out of the trailer from the impact of the accident. Their mobile home went airborne and the trailer came off.
They were near Van Wert, Ohio, and had just crossed the Indiana state line when an accident occurred.
“I was driving along U.S. 30 and my wife and two dogs were in the back on the couch, and we were out in the country where there was no traffic or obstruction and a semi pulled in front of us,” Brian said.
“I had to make a decision on how to avoid the semi and it didn’t seem like I was going to be able to avoid the accident. My options were to go left and miss the semi or to go to the right and we ended up in the ditch,” Brian said.
Brian was wearing his seatbelt and was not injured, but his wife got hurt. The semi driver stopped and was not injured.
“At one point when we were crashing, she ended up close to me and I?grabbed her, but I lost grip of her and she went through the windshield of the motor home and ended up on the grass in front of the motor home right before it stopped,” Brian said.
The motor home tipped on its side.
“The dogs flew out the windshield and jumped over Kim and ran as fast as they could run, and I could see them for a quarter of a mile running,” Brian said.
The first person on the scene, who was a witness to the accident, came up to the front on the motor home and Brian asked him to find the dogs. The man made an effort to get the dogs and came back and said someone had the dogs, but that ended up not being true.
“I?think he told me that on purpose so I wouldn’t be worried about the dogs and could concentrate on other things,” Brian said.
Brian said he told Kim the dogs were safe, but they found out later that they weren’t.
“At the first impact I knew what had happened, but at some point I lost consciousness and I woke up as I was rolling out the window,” Kim said.
A resident near the crash scene called 911, and Kim was flown to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, because she broke her back in two places.
A passerby, who was a paramedic, held Kim’s neck until medical personnel arrived on scene.
Brian rode with a friend to the hospital, and he spent some time looking for the dogs before he went to the hospital.
“At that point I?knew no one had them and I didn’t want to tell my wife we didn’t have the dogs,” Brian said.
Brian called his daughter, Nicole, to let her know they had been in a serious accident. She called her sister, Lizzy, and a family friend drove the sisters to the hospital.
A cat scan was done on Kim to make sure her arm wasn’t broken because it was black and blue, but it wasn’t. She broke her back in two places and has worn a plastic body cast since the accident. Her family helps her shower and put her clothing on.
“At this point we were misleading Kim that the dogs were safe, and we made a decision to not let her know the dogs were missing at that point,” Brian said.
Brian, his two daughters and volunteers met in Ohio to search for the dogs over a three-day span while family members stayed in the hospital with Kim. They went door to door to 12 homes to see if they had seen their dogs.
“The neighbors were riding four wheelers, and horseback riding, and in their cars and walking to help find the dogs,” Brian said.
They gave their phone numbers to the neighbors. They received calls that they had spotted the dogs several times, but the dogs were in shock and would not come to the Ohio residents.
“We decided to trap the dogs with live traps and dog food,” Brian said.
He purchased two coyote traps, and an Ohio resident who lived near the scene donated traps and set them out. The Van Wert Humane Society donated traps as well. Eight traps were set within a mile of the crash site.
Bella was the first dog caught by the trap the Humane Society set out a half a mile from the scene. Employees took her back to the society to feed her and make sure she was fine.
Nicole received a phone call informing them Bella had been found. They then got a phone call saying Ruby had been spotted in a field a mile from the crash scene.
“Dad and I looked for Ruby, but couldn’t find her, so we went to the Human Society to get Bella,” Nicole said.
Lizzy and her cousin, Joey Jedrzejak, found Ruby in a trap a mile from the scene.
Jedrzejak’s mother, Cindy, and her sons, Joey and Jeff, also helped look for the dogs.
“The community really stepped up to help find the dogs. They were spending time after they got off work to look for the dogs over a three-day period,” Brian said.
A Facebook page was put up to find the dogs. Convoy Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and an Ohio State Police officer looked for the dogs.
An Ohio resident, Dale Burden, who was sick at home, also helped look for the dogs. After both dogs were found, they all reunited in his home. He offered his pickup truck to be used to find the dogs, and he opened his home to the family.
Brian also had friends from Illinois, David and Jodi Boys, who came to help search for the dogs.
That Saturday, Nicole purchased thank-you notes with photos of the dogs. She and Brian took the dogs and passed out thank-you notes to all those who had helped.
“Several of the people broke down and cried and were happy the dogs had been found,” Brian said.
The dogs were brought into Kim’s hospital room, and they told her Friday afternoon the dogs had been lost but were found.
“It brought joy and tears to my eyes to be reunited with my dogs,” Kim said.
Kim was in the hospital for nine days.
“Finding the dogs has been important for Kim’s recovery, and it would have been difficult if we had lost even one because they have been together their whole lives,” Brian said.
They got the dogs when they were babies from Brian’s racing friends, Melvin Jones, and Jones’ wife, Pat.
“These dogs are like my kids,” Kim said.
Nicole and Lizzy said the dogs are like family.
“Our parents spoil the dogs more than us,” Lizzy joked.
“They are like sisters to us. I?named Bella and Lizzy named Ruby,” Nicole said.
The family is happy to be at home together again, and to all be alive.
An Ohio community came together and rallied around the family to help them find their two 4-year-old female Bluetick Beagle dogs, “Bella” and “Ruby,” who are sisters.
The dogs were scared and ran away from the accident scene following the crash.
Brian, 53, and Kim, 52, were travelling July 6 in their 40-foot motor home to Bloomsburg, Pa., with a trailer carrying an ATV and Brian’s race car and equipment in the trailer for a racing event Brian was going to compete in. They never made it to the race.
Their motor home, ATV, race trailer were totalled, and Kim broke her back in two places. Tools, spare parts, jacks and batteries flew out of the trailer from the impact of the accident. Their mobile home went airborne and the trailer came off.
They were near Van Wert, Ohio, and had just crossed the Indiana state line when an accident occurred.
“I was driving along U.S. 30 and my wife and two dogs were in the back on the couch, and we were out in the country where there was no traffic or obstruction and a semi pulled in front of us,” Brian said.
“I had to make a decision on how to avoid the semi and it didn’t seem like I was going to be able to avoid the accident. My options were to go left and miss the semi or to go to the right and we ended up in the ditch,” Brian said.
Brian was wearing his seatbelt and was not injured, but his wife got hurt. The semi driver stopped and was not injured.
“At one point when we were crashing, she ended up close to me and I?grabbed her, but I lost grip of her and she went through the windshield of the motor home and ended up on the grass in front of the motor home right before it stopped,” Brian said.
The motor home tipped on its side.
“The dogs flew out the windshield and jumped over Kim and ran as fast as they could run, and I could see them for a quarter of a mile running,” Brian said.
The first person on the scene, who was a witness to the accident, came up to the front on the motor home and Brian asked him to find the dogs. The man made an effort to get the dogs and came back and said someone had the dogs, but that ended up not being true.
“I?think he told me that on purpose so I wouldn’t be worried about the dogs and could concentrate on other things,” Brian said.
Brian said he told Kim the dogs were safe, but they found out later that they weren’t.
“At the first impact I knew what had happened, but at some point I lost consciousness and I woke up as I was rolling out the window,” Kim said.
A resident near the crash scene called 911, and Kim was flown to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, because she broke her back in two places.
A passerby, who was a paramedic, held Kim’s neck until medical personnel arrived on scene.
Brian rode with a friend to the hospital, and he spent some time looking for the dogs before he went to the hospital.
“At that point I?knew no one had them and I didn’t want to tell my wife we didn’t have the dogs,” Brian said.
Brian called his daughter, Nicole, to let her know they had been in a serious accident. She called her sister, Lizzy, and a family friend drove the sisters to the hospital.
A cat scan was done on Kim to make sure her arm wasn’t broken because it was black and blue, but it wasn’t. She broke her back in two places and has worn a plastic body cast since the accident. Her family helps her shower and put her clothing on.
“At this point we were misleading Kim that the dogs were safe, and we made a decision to not let her know the dogs were missing at that point,” Brian said.
Brian, his two daughters and volunteers met in Ohio to search for the dogs over a three-day span while family members stayed in the hospital with Kim. They went door to door to 12 homes to see if they had seen their dogs.
“The neighbors were riding four wheelers, and horseback riding, and in their cars and walking to help find the dogs,” Brian said.
They gave their phone numbers to the neighbors. They received calls that they had spotted the dogs several times, but the dogs were in shock and would not come to the Ohio residents.
“We decided to trap the dogs with live traps and dog food,” Brian said.
He purchased two coyote traps, and an Ohio resident who lived near the scene donated traps and set them out. The Van Wert Humane Society donated traps as well. Eight traps were set within a mile of the crash site.
Bella was the first dog caught by the trap the Humane Society set out a half a mile from the scene. Employees took her back to the society to feed her and make sure she was fine.
Nicole received a phone call informing them Bella had been found. They then got a phone call saying Ruby had been spotted in a field a mile from the crash scene.
“Dad and I looked for Ruby, but couldn’t find her, so we went to the Human Society to get Bella,” Nicole said.
Lizzy and her cousin, Joey Jedrzejak, found Ruby in a trap a mile from the scene.
Jedrzejak’s mother, Cindy, and her sons, Joey and Jeff, also helped look for the dogs.
“The community really stepped up to help find the dogs. They were spending time after they got off work to look for the dogs over a three-day period,” Brian said.
A Facebook page was put up to find the dogs. Convoy Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and an Ohio State Police officer looked for the dogs.
An Ohio resident, Dale Burden, who was sick at home, also helped look for the dogs. After both dogs were found, they all reunited in his home. He offered his pickup truck to be used to find the dogs, and he opened his home to the family.
Brian also had friends from Illinois, David and Jodi Boys, who came to help search for the dogs.
That Saturday, Nicole purchased thank-you notes with photos of the dogs. She and Brian took the dogs and passed out thank-you notes to all those who had helped.
“Several of the people broke down and cried and were happy the dogs had been found,” Brian said.
The dogs were brought into Kim’s hospital room, and they told her Friday afternoon the dogs had been lost but were found.
“It brought joy and tears to my eyes to be reunited with my dogs,” Kim said.
Kim was in the hospital for nine days.
“Finding the dogs has been important for Kim’s recovery, and it would have been difficult if we had lost even one because they have been together their whole lives,” Brian said.
They got the dogs when they were babies from Brian’s racing friends, Melvin Jones, and Jones’ wife, Pat.
“These dogs are like my kids,” Kim said.
Nicole and Lizzy said the dogs are like family.
“Our parents spoil the dogs more than us,” Lizzy joked.
“They are like sisters to us. I?named Bella and Lizzy named Ruby,” Nicole said.
The family is happy to be at home together again, and to all be alive.
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