Dog hit by speeding car
Phoenix, OR (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 12, 2005
County: Jackson
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
A dog who helped a Medford teen through his brother's tragic death was seriously injured in a hit-and-run while his owner watched in horror. Now 15-year-old Tyler Granger is left selling a prized possession to pay the dog's hospital bills and struggling to understand why it happened.
Tyler and Toby, a 6-month-old Labrador and German shepherd mix, were walking on Aug 12 in the bike lane along Fourth Street in Phoenix when a truck swerved into the lane and ran over the dog and sped away.
"They had plenty of time to stop but didn't," Tyler said. "They just kept going the speed they were going."
Tyler said there was no traffic on the street, giving the truck no reason to swerve. Also, the dog weighs 36 pounds, so he thinks it would be impossible for the driver not to know he'd hit something.
Toby bit Tyler - something the teen said never happened before - when he tried to move him off the road. The dog ran from him and had to be chased to the Minute Market on Fourth Street, Tyler said.
The dog was taken to the Phoenix Animal Hospital and treated for serious injures to his back legs.
Witnesses described the truck as a blue Toyota 4-Runner. The last three numbers on the license plate are "108," police said.
"The person responsible could be charged with felony animal abuse," Phoenix police Chief Bob Kershaw said.
Tyler sold his 4-wheeler the next day for $1,000 to pay Toby's doctor bill.
Toby is heavily bandaged and takes codeine for the pain in his legs. Veterinarians will soon decide whether he needs surgery for his injuries.
The dog helped get Tyler through a tough year. Tyler's older brother, Justin, died last winter - a loss that left him despondent.
"I used to do everything with Toby until this happened," Tyler said.
Michelle Williams, Tyler's mother, watched as her son withdrew from the world after his brother's death.
"He just lost interest in a lot of things," Williams said. "He didn't hang out with friends and started skipping school."
Losing Justin was hard enough, but seeing Tyler withdraw was too much to bear, Williams said.
"I was trying everything to get him engaged in everyday living," she said.
Then she remembered how much a hospital visit by a Labrador helped Tyler's younger brother deal with an appendectomy two years ago.
"I though if I could get (Tyler) a dog he would come out," she said.
It worked. The dog gave Tyler something positive to focus on.
"It appeared he was coming out of his shell after he got Toby," Williams said.
Williams said she and her son are not looking for donations or seeking punitive damages from the person who hit the dog.
"He needs to be held accountable for his actions," Williams said. "He owes my son an explanation and an apology." References« OR State Animal Cruelty Map
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