Dog survives terrifying ordeal on Halifax bridge
- Published on February 2, 2012
Former Valley resident the ‘lucky animal lover who was there at the right time and place’
- Topics :
- Leah Banks , Halifax ,Dartmouth , Colchester County
TRURO – Angela Smith was heading across the bridge into Dartmouth Monday morning when she noticed a sudden disruption in the traffic flow.
“I assumed people were slowing down because of the heavy traffic and there was a couple of transport trucks going uphill,” the former Valley resident said.
She then noticed that several vehicles appeared to be driving over something and, to her horror, realized it was a dog.
“When I stopped, I was stopping to move a dead dog off to the side, so I thought,” Smith said. “I could clearly see from my car she was still breathing. I jumped out of my car, looked around and hoped people wouldn’t start honking at me because I was stopping rush hour traffic.”
Other drivers didn’t honk but neither did they offer assistance.
“No one really helped. I went to her and she didn’t move. I grabbed a blanket out of my trunk, got her on it and into the back seat of my car. The race was on …”
Smith eventually got the injured dog transported to the Dartmouth Vet Clinic where it was treated for a badly fractured jaw, head trauma, an injured paw and tail and various scrapes.
Despite not knowing who the dog belonged to and even after being told that vet bills could reach as high as $2,500, Smith remained committed to dealing with the situation, all the while worrying about its fate.
“My day was filled with the ‘what ifs?'” she said. “What if I was five minutes earlier or five minutes later? I haunted myself with thoughts of seeing worse happen to her … that the cars that were driving over her continued to damage her more, or worse, finish the job. I was driving myself nuts with these silly thoughts.”
Needing something positive to focus on, Smith turned to the social networking power of Facebook and decided to start a fundraiser for the injured dog.
It was also through Facebook that she discovered it was a Jack Russell/Australian cattle dog mix named Sasha, that had been missing for several days.
Last November, Sasha was placed with Leah Banks of Cole Harbour as a foster dog through the volunteer agency Animal Rescue Coalition (ARC) of Halifax, after being picked up as a runaway stray in Colchester County.
“Within a day, she was attached to me and my younger dog Ash,” Banks said. “What a little Miss Busy Bee … she loved doing circles in our living room or playing tug-of-war and stealing Ash’s toys and playing with my cat Dewey.”
Sasha also enjoyed many outings with Leah and her family but as much as the dog had taken to her foster home, it was intended as just that.
Last week, Sasha was adopted by a person in Halifax. But it soon became apparent that was not where she wanted to be, and within 24 hours of seeing her off, Banks received a dreaded call that her little friend had run away from her new home.
That prompted a frantic search over the next several days by Banks and her family, who suspected Sasha was attempting to make her way to Leah’s father’s house in Dartmouth, from where she had been walked in previous months. Despite numerous sightings, however, Sasha remained on the loose until Monday morning when she got caught up in rush-hour traffic on the Murray MacKay Bridge.
Sasha has now been reunited with Banks and has a permanent place in her home.
And between Smith’s fundraising efforts and contributions from Banks, Sasha’s vet’s bills of about $1,600 are being taken care of.
But Smith is encouraging anyone who may be affected by the story to donate to ARC to assist with the needs of other animals that require care.
Looking back on things, she has mixed feelings about the situation.
“It’s hard to be angry when you don’t have a specific person to be angry towards,” she said of the motorists who repeatedly ran over the little dog.
“I’m angry inside, but really, it’s more nauseating then anything … It’s why I think this story is so important – people just shouldn’t assume an animal is dead. She clearly wasn’t and is clearly alive to this day. I hate thinking about this part of it all the most because it takes me back to the what ifs?
“Maybe I was meant to be there – maybe someone up above said: ‘OK Sasha – time to stop running. It’ll hurt but I’ll help you find your way home.’ And then I was just a part of that plan. I’m not the angel, I’m just the lucky animal lover who was there at the right time and place.”
HRM needs more people like Angela, and less people like the IDIOTS that were driving over an animal.
Nothing surprises me any more. What is wrong with people?
Glad there was a least one person that stopped to help this poor dog! We do need a lot more people like you out there!
Thank God for Angela Smith!
Ifit wasn’t for Ms. Smith, the fate of por Sasha would have been much worse. SHAME on YOU ALL who drove over that poor little dog, and SHAMEON YOU for not stopping to offer assistance. It;s sad that day to day life seems to be so rusehed that persons can not stop and act like decent human beings. It doesnt take much effort and going that extra mile, can sometimes mean the difference btwn a good situation and a bad situation.
I am a devout animal lover, and say KUDOS to Ms. Smith who committed herself to ensuring that the welfare of one of God’s creatures.
A light in the darkness, and a prime example of good for the rest of us.
Jessica you have just said what I was going to say…shame on you all for ignoring a little dog in the road whether deceased or not.Thankyou so much Angela Smith for making this a happy ending : )
A simple thank you doesn’t seem enough, but I’ll say it anyway. Thank you Angela. I wish more people were as kindhearted as you.
What a nice story. I don’t blame the other drivers, however. They probably assumed the dog was already dead and stopping on the bridge could easily cause a collision.
When I read this story it made me think that there are some great devoted people out there that no matter what will either stop to move a dead animal off the road or to help one and this Angela person should feel great about yourself for stopping and all these other people kept driving over this poor dog on the road either dead or alive come on people have a heart ,THANKS ANGELA FOR STOPPING and the rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves 🙁
Bless you Ms. Smith for stopping and saving Sasha. I for one can not imagine driving over that poor girl. I would have jumped out as well. Get well soon Sasha you have made sure you got the forever home of your choice 🙂
God Bless You!! I cried reading the story how heartless some people can be…God Bless You,You were that poor little’s soul gaurdian angel for sure…
God love you for stopping,
SHAME on those drivers that kept driving, sending the message that their little worlds were more important than putting themselves out there to help another living thing in need. Thank goodness for Angela Smith. What goes around comes around….
This story has touched my heart. I hit a dog a long time ago and I took it to the vet and being a puppy, he never had any broken bones. The owner was very thankful. … (edit)… So Angela, bless you for doing this. I feel sick to think that people could keep driving over this poor little dog. They have NO heart at all. I still to this day, and so does my sister, stop at all times to move animals off the road. People are heartless and don’t worry about the “what if’s”. Because of you, Sasha lives in a very happy home and hopefully will live a long and happy life. To all the animal lovers out there, bless you all.!!
Thanks you for your kindness to this little being.
As the “parent” of 4 greyhounds & a member of GPAC I know what it’s like to be out looking for a lost one. The worries, concerns & what ifs always are present in the mind.
Kudoos to you for your good deed – your reward will be great!
A happy ending to a very sad story.
Thank you Angela for being there for Sasha.
Just wanted to say this story was unbelieveable! Unbelieveable that people would run over a dog..dead or alive…Obviously people are in such a rush that a beautiful animal is too much to care about! I realize the bridge is a busy place but if drivers are paying attention as they should be, someone stopping should not cause an accident. …(edit)… Thoses people who ran over this sweet LIVING being should be ashamed of themselves. Thank you Angela for caring and for being brave and for thinking of others above yourself. Today, after reading this, you are my hero. Great job and I hope our dear little friend enjoys her forever home and heals quickly 🙂
Ms Smith you are a true hero and now a person that I can look up to and want to always be like. I love all animals. I cried so hard when I read this article. I called my neighbor right away for her to come read it too. She also cried. When my Fiance and my brother called to check up on me I told them about it they too were very upset. I am so ashamed to be part of the human race on one hand due the actions and the non-actions of all those other drivers, but on the other hand I am so proud to be part of the human race that would go out of there way for any creature of god. You know it’s sad to think that the ones that drove around or drove over this poor little dog will most likely never get to read these comments, because chances are that if you are an animal lover you would have been the one to stop and you would also most likely be the one who would be involved with animal sites on the computer like this one. So I scream at the top of my lungs…SHAME ON YOU ALL FOR NOT HELPING OR FOR BEING ONE OF THOSE WHOM SIMPLY RAN OVER ONE OF OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE GIFTS FROM GOD. Ms Smith I pray for the very best for the dog, and I know that the rewards to you will be 10 fold. All those who know you love you, and now all of us who now know of you and your deeds can say we love you too. Be at peace in your heart for you did the best you could do and we all applaud you. xoxo ps-my recently departed Mr Bo Jangles is in heaven smiling right now because of your actions towards one of his furry little friends.
Thank goodness for your kindness Angela. I’m sure Leah and her family are thankful you came along.All the best to Sasha for a speedy recovery! A lovely story…
Thank you Angela for saving a precious little dog’s life! Thank you!!!