10-Week-Old Puppy Thrown Out of Truck Window on Busy Freeway Rescued by Good Samaritan
It’s a poor choice to throw anything out of a moving vehicle. The implications of littering aside, stray debris can hit windshields, cause flat tires and result in terrible accidents.
When Jessy Wall spotted what she thought was a pillow flying out of what KJZZ called a “single cab moving truck” window on a Utah highway, she was startled and confused. She wondered why someone would throw a couch pillow into the road — then she realized that the “pillow” had legs and floppy ears.
“I thought somebody lost a couch pillow out of their moving van and then it started moving,” Wall told Deseret News.
That’s right — someone dared to toss a living, breathing puppy out of a moving vehicle, right into the middle of traffic. Unsurprisingly, Wall was horrified.
“I stopped, I pulled over and I started waving my arms like a crazy person. I didn’t want to run out into traffic in the middle of I-15 but just trying to get people to slow down,” she said.
A few other witnesses noticed what had happened and stopped to assist her. Wall asked them to confirm the unbelievable.
“I said, ‘Did you see that guy just toss him out of the car?’ So since we both thought that, we are definitely thinking that’s what happened,” she said.
To Wall’s relief, she was able to rescue the blue heeler puppy from the busy roadway before a tragedy occurred.
“My first instinct was to run out in the middle of the freeway, and then I stopped myself. Then we were able to get him (the puppy) to come over,” Wall said.
The truck never doubled back in search of the lost dog, and the incident happened too quickly to catch a license plate number in time. Wall will likely never know who was responsible for the act of cruelty.
“The police officer said let’s wait 10-15 minutes in case the owner returns,” Wall said. “No one ever came.”
Wall raced the puppy to a nearby vet, where it was determined that the dog had suffered fractures in his pelvis and femur, leaving him unable to walk. The puppy, who has since been named Avett, was also in a bad state of shock. The cost of surgery to fix his injuries was estimated at $4,000 and there was a risk that the doctor would be forced to amputate Avett’s leg.
Teaming up with animal rescue shelter Herding Haven, Wall established a GoFundMe to help pay for the procedure’s high cost. As of today, Avett’s GoFundMe has raised over $5,000.
“Dr. Becker at Granite Veterinary Specialists will be performing the surgery and it is our hope that little Avett will not only walk again, but get to run, play and just be a puppy!” the GoFundMe reads.
Avett was placed in a mandatory stray hold in case his owners tried to claim him, but after the waiting period passed he was taken into Wall’s care. A recent Facebook update revealed that Avett “came through his surgery with flying colors!”
“Avett is now resting comfortably and recovering in his foster home. We are so very grateful to everyone — your generous donations, kind words and positive thoughts all brought this little puppy through some very difficult days,” Herding Haven wrote.
Animal cruelty is heartbreaking, but it is always reassuring to know that there are Good Samaritans ready and willing to save hurt pups from their dire situations. We wish Avett a speedy recovery!
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