Lee Lipton was
described as "the sweetest, most docile dog... he was always happy,
playful, and always had a smile on his face. Just seeing him would make
you smile and lift your spirits".
A beloved family dog, Lee got out of his yard late one Monday night. His family searched the neighborhood that night, but could not find him.
It wasn't until Thursday that one of their neighbor's saw a sign that Lee was missing. Unfortunately the neighbor did not have good news.
Late Monday night, Lee was hit by a truck. The driver of the truck that hit Lee didn't even stop. The neighbor, however, went back to find the dog. By the time they got there, Lee was gone. The neighbor thought "he must be OK" and had gone home. He didn't think about it again until Thursday when he saw the sign for Lee and called the Smiths.
The Smith family rushed to the area where Lee was hit, but could not find him. While they were there, they put up more Lost Dog signs. At this same time, they got a call from the nearby Emergency Clinic, where they had filed a report that Lee was missing. The news got worse.
It turns out that Lee had not been able to get very far from where he had been hit and was less than a half a mile from home the whole time. After Lee was hit, he lay in the area and tried to crawl to safety for two days and two cold nights. It wasn't until Wednesday that another neighbor heard Lee crying on the bank of a small creek in a wooded area of her backyard. She had to leave and when she came back, she could not find Lee in her backyard. Then later in the same day (Wednesday) she saw Lee had crawled closer, but was still on the other side of the creek. She could see then that Lee was dirty and that something was terribly wrong because of the position of his legs. She immediately called the community's Animal Control.
Obviously in a lot of pain, Lee - who was normally a sweet, submissive dog - started growling at the Animal Control Officer. Because of this, the officer had to use a snare pole - a long pole with a noose. The officer walked through the creek, put the noose around Lee's neck and dragged him down the bank, through the cold creek, and up the other bank.
The lady was extremely upset to see Lee - who was obviously hurt - be treated this way. She could see that Lee had kind eyes and was wearing a collar; she knew this was somebody's baby. After the officer put a muzzle on Lee they wrapped him in some towels the lady brought from her house. She begged him to take the dog to the vet where he could get some help.
Once at a clinic a vet examined Lee. The vet who had worked on Lee said Lee's spine was fractured and he could not use his back legs. It looked like Lee had been hit from behind. They put him down that night.
Lee's family is devastated by the loss. They know if they had gotten to him sooner they would have been able to save him.
They did everything right - reporting him missing, posting flyers, talking to neighbors, checking shelters, listing him on PETS 911 and other lost and found Web sites, etc. - but they still offer advice:
1) Put a reflective collar with your phone number on your dog.
2) Get as many people to help as you can because there is a lot to do and time is of the essence.
3) Immediately search the surrounding area, calling your dog's name and listening for a response.
4) Go farther away than you think he might have gone.
5) Don't be shy about looking in your neighbor's backyards and wooded areas.
6) Be sure to check any creeks, lakes, etc. because the dog may go there for water.
7) Search around any roads in the area in case the dog got hit.
8) Put out large, colorful signs about your lost dog. Someone knows what happened to your dog, but you have got to get them to see your signs, so they know how to contact you.
And of course the best advice of all is to do everything in your power to keep your dog from getting out in the first place.
"PETS 911 is saddened by the loss of Lee and now offer these extra tips in his memory, with the hope no other animal has to suffer the same way"
