Lost dog finds loving hearts
Staff writer
Just after midnight on Sunday Cain Smith, 17, of rural Lehigh, was driving home when he noticed a truck stopped ahead of him on Chisholm Trail Road.
“There are hardly ever other vehicles out here, so he sped up to see what was going on,” his mother, Sarah Simington said.
Just as Smith got to the other vehicle, it took off, and as it did, a dog appeared in the roadway. Smith narrowly avoided hitting the dog, but it seemed already injured so he stopped to check it out.
“We weren’t at home at the time,” Simington said. “So I just told him to take her there and we would see what we could do for her in the morning.”
The female dog, an apparent mastiff shepherd mix, was very friendly despite the fact that it seemed to hurt her to move.
Smith and Simington took her to veterinarian Amber Toews at Hillsboro Animal Clinic the next morning where Toews checked the dog for microchip identification and evaluated her for injuries.
“The vet told us she had some fractures in her hips, but there really wasn’t anything that could be done for her, other than keep her comfortable,” Simington said. “They could not find any micro-chips.”
Since Simington has other dogs and younger children at home, she was concerned about the dog’s rabies status and paid to get her vaccinated.
“She is such a sweet, calm dog,” she said. “We are very anxious to find out if her owners are looking for her, and would be glad to return her. But if we can’t find that, she has a permanent home with us.”
The dog was found two miles south and west of Lehigh. Anyone with information about her ownership can contact the newspaper office at (620) 382-2165 and leave a phone number. The Simington family members are willing to follow up on any leads to help the lost dog find her true home.