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A hit-and-run incident happened at a home in Sandy, but in this case the victim is a dog.
Lori Ferrell's dog watches the perimeter of her home near 800 East on 8280 South. But when a four-wheeler smashed into the front gate, the dog suffered serious injuries. "Both his legs were just hanging. They were snapped," Lori said.
That's how Lori found her American Eskimo dog "Strider Prince" after a noisy night two weeks ago. "Someone had been driving ATVs in the middle of the night and apparently rammed my gate," she explained.
Farrell thinks the gate hit her dog. A neighbor, Maxine Burgess, heard the commotion. "They just barreled right through that road and into the gate," she said. She told us it was a man and a woman on an ATV.
But they were long gone, and Strider Prince was left with his front legs broken.
"I went into a panic. I was pretty upset," Lori said.
She rushed Strider to the vet, who put metal plates in each of his legs. "This will keep his legs off the ground," Lori said.
For now, there will be no striding for Strider. He uses a homemade doggie walker to get around.
"I'm hoping he can walk and have some quality of life," Lori said. It may take eight weeks.
She also hopes police will find whoever hurt the pooch. "It's sad that someone would just injure an animal like that and leave him," she said.
Farrell is left with thousands of dollars in vet bills. "I think right now we're up to $5,000," she said. Farrell says she won't press charges if the person responsible foots the bill.
She's a dog owner who just wants help, so her best friend will get better. She says Strider is "just a wonderful companion, a wonderful pet."
There were witnesses to this incident. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office is working on identifying three suspects. They probably won't be arrested, but detectives may push for charges next week.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
