Update: Hit-run driver left ‘Lulu’ badly hurt; owner has been found

>(2:11 PM UPDATE: The owner has been found)

1:47 PM: If you have any idea whose dog this is – she has a tag reading “Lulu” – they need to know she’s at a local clinic, and that a lot of people worked hard to rescue her and are trying to find her people.

It started with Jennifer, who lives near the top of the hill at Highland Park Way and heard it happen around 1 am:

I looked out of my 3rd story window and saw the driver of an SUV (in the dark it looked like a silver Pathfinder or Infinity) get out and look under their vehicle. They said something to their passenger and got back in their car after a few seconds. They tried to drive off but whatever they hit was still blocking their way somewhat so they backed up a bit then went forward again. They paused slightly and then just drove down the big hill.

I could see through the branches of the tree between me and that part of the street something flopping and flailing about, it looked like a large dog. I then say a Border Collie run across Highland Park way from the west and it was obvious they were buddies. The Border Collie went to the other dog and stood there looking around as if for help. I decided to run down to help but by the time I got there all I saw was blood on the street. Almost starting to cry, I looked up the weird little street going Southeast, up kind of behind where I live and sure enough there was the big dog that had been hit, limping up the hill with the Border Collie encouraging its friend to get somewhere, probably home. I didn’t know what to do.

From there, the dogs both went to the side yard of a nearby house. Jennifer followed along and guessed it might be their home; the injured dog went into the back yard, while the border collie came back to her. She knocked on the door – no one came. She went back when it was light; the border collie turned up again, the other dog was still in the yard. She says, “(A young neighbor) saw the border collie wondering around and decided to take it for a walk. He was on Highland Park Way when a woman stopped her car, told the kid that was her dog and took off with it. She did not mention a second dog at all.” She found the owner of the house where the injured dog was still resting, and with the help of yet more neighbors, “we tried all sorts of things like calling vets, 911, friends, friends of friends, the animal shelter which was not taking calls until 9:15. Finally the kid, who happens to volunteer at the Burien shelter, called an officer there who out of the kindness of his heart came to put the dog on a stretcher, load the dog into his vehicle and transport the dog to Lien Animal Clinic. Incredible dedication!”

2:11 PM UPDATE: Nancy, another neighbor who was helping, says Lulu’s owner has been found.

37 Replies to "Update: Hit-run driver left 'Lulu' badly hurt; owner has been found"

  • Tanya May 29, 2014 (2:19 pm)

    I am so glad that caring folks found Lulu and tended to her. I hope karma comes back to the jerks who hit her and drove off.
    I hope that we can get an update on her health. I’m wishing her a speedy recovery!

  • ca May 29, 2014 (2:25 pm)

    so thankful there are still good citizens out there…I hope lulu pulls through and recovers quickly. I would hope someone would do this for my family “member” if this had happened. I hope karma gets the people who hit and ran her….what person does that. smh. Please let us know how she does.

  • brooke May 29, 2014 (2:29 pm)

    did this dog have a blue collar? wondering if it’s the one I wrote in about yesterday.

  • clark5080 May 29, 2014 (2:36 pm)

    If the dog had not been running loose no injury would have occurred.

  • Joe Szilagyi May 29, 2014 (2:42 pm)

    Crazy. I was *AT* that vet around 930am getting a quick checkup on our new kittens and someone came in talking about this, and seeing that photo, I realized I saw that dog there. I hope she made out ok.

  • JM May 29, 2014 (2:58 pm)

    This made me cry. Thank you to the people who helped this poor dog. How scary for them, and how incredibly awful that the driver just drove away, as if Lulu’s life wasn’t worth their time. “Clark5080” shame on you, I hope no one you love is involved in a hit and run, four-legged or otherwise.

  • Peeb May 29, 2014 (3:03 pm)

    @clark5080 – Thanks for your astute observation, Captain Obvious.

  • Jessica May 29, 2014 (3:08 pm)

    Thanks for stating the obvious, Clark5080. Dogs escape. Stuff happens. Still nice to see a community looking out for each other and caring.

  • Jessica B May 29, 2014 (3:10 pm)

    This also made me cry. So touching.
    Please keep us updated on Lulu’s condition. Hope she pulls through…

  • norskgirl May 29, 2014 (3:12 pm)

    This dog should be renamed “Grace”. Thank you for the life-saving human helpers. (As an aside; seeing the photo with what appears to be blood on the porch was extra upsetting. I wish it had been posted in a link so that I would have had the choice to view or not.)

    • WSB May 29, 2014 (3:16 pm)

      Norsk, sorry but at the time this was urgent … we have the most stringent photography (and text) rules you’ll ever find in news media (no blood on the pavement at crash or crime scenes, no bodies, no weeping victims/relatives, no people on gurneys, etc.), but I decided that since we weren’t looking at a bloody wound, etc., we’d run the risk of being a bit graphic with blood on the decking. I shrunk the photo for that reason rather than running it twice the width atop the story. I apologize, but once in a while we will go a little outside the code. I thought of cropping it to her face only but didn’t think that would be as helpful in jogging someone’s memory. – TR

  • CarrieP. May 29, 2014 (3:18 pm)

    This is going to haunt me for at least the rest of the day. How someone could just drive away from that situation–let alone back over the dog they just hit–blows my mind. I wish there was some way to find out who did this and some kind of punishment given. On the positive side, so grateful for the animal lovers who assisted Lulu and that her parents, who can comfort her most, have been located.

  • Bags May 29, 2014 (3:30 pm)

    “This dog should be renamed “Grace”.”

    …why? Can the family just have their loving family member back without needing to think of this horrible incident every time they call its name? Poor dog, so sad.

  • another May 29, 2014 (3:32 pm)

    Hey Clark5080- When an idiot runs you over in the street I’ll be sure to remind you that it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t crossed the street. Get a life. Oh, and a heart while your’e at it.
    Luckily we have caring and thoughtful residents in this community. I would have helped just the same had I been present. Thank you to those who helped.

  • Lisa L May 29, 2014 (3:49 pm)

    She’s at the best vet!

  • miws May 29, 2014 (3:53 pm)

    Kudos to everyone that helped Lulu, and glad to hear her people have been located.

    .

    Sending healing thoughts to Lulu.

    .

    Mike

  • WB May 29, 2014 (4:32 pm)

    Glad some kind people got Lulu home. I too am sending healing thoughts.

  • flimflam May 29, 2014 (4:59 pm)

    so sorry for the dog and owner – and the people who had to witness or deal with this…

    .
    the driver of the SUV is a pretty foul human being. they knew what they did and callously left this animal to suffer. I can only hope that karma knocks on their door soon…

  • kh May 29, 2014 (5:09 pm)

    She looks like such a sweet pup. While it’s great that this awesome community jumped to her rescue, it’s still incredibly sad that Lulu had to go through this awful experience, and all of these people had to go through the intense emotions of rescuing an injured animal. I second your point Clark5080…If you own a dog, it is your responsibility to ensure it doesn’t get out. That dogs life is forever yours to guard. I sure hope Lulu’s owners learned this lesson the hard way. Godspeed Lulu!

  • Graham Morgan May 29, 2014 (5:26 pm)

    It is clear that the driver did an irresponsible thing; it is unclear whether the owners did, so how about being more neighborly and not jumping to that conclusion clark5080 and company. I think it is a much safer assumption that the owners do their best to keep their dog safe.

  • MaryV May 29, 2014 (5:29 pm)

    I pray for Lulu as this reqlly makes me shutter. Thank you to Jennifer, you armthe kind of neighbor i want. These a{}#holes in the SUV, unbelieveable kindless…… I hope you get whst you give. Please give us an update on the condition of the dog.

  • Faith May 29, 2014 (5:45 pm)

    could it be this soldier’s dog? If not, and the owners cannot be found, perhaps this soldier would like to take him. Might be a great match…..

    95.7 KJR
    Please SHARE.. let’s HELP this local SOLDIER..Brandon Harker returned home to Lakewood, Washington from a nine month deployment in Afghanistan last week to find that his dog had been given away or sold on Craigslist by a friend who was supposed to be caring for the dog in his absence. He wants it back (address in the pic) What do you guys think?

    • WSB May 29, 2014 (5:56 pm)

      Faith – that sounded familiar; I looked it up, and it was from last year, though apparently Oakley – male, so definitely not Lulu – is still missing. It appears Oakley’s person has adopted another dog, though if anyone ever finds Oakley, I’m sure he’d be happy too!
      .
      https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Oakley/283805531761221

  • pupsarebest May 29, 2014 (5:50 pm)

    A heartbreaking story, yes, I shed tears, who wouldn’t?
    Thank you to all who helped this sweet animal in her hour of need.
    I and many others are hoping and wishing the best for her full recovery, and look forward to a recent update on her condition.

  • dogonit May 29, 2014 (6:02 pm)

    I happened to be at Lein around 10. I saw Lulu in back with her legs wrapped up, but she seemed alert, cooperative and not in pain. Until I saw this post, I assumed she had been there for a while under some kind of planned procedure due to how calm she and the staff were. I do hope she makes a full recovery!

  • Jennifer May 29, 2014 (6:25 pm)

    I’m the Jennifer who helped in caring for Lulu and I have to say that whoever her people are they are lucky. Even with immense pain in her eyes she hardly made any noise the entire time I was around her, including when she got hit. She gave a soft growl when first being approached by the neighbor kid with the hero animal control officer friend. After that she was almost all tail wags and sniffing to everyone who helped her, including when she had to get onto the stretcher. The Border Collie buddy was a sweetheart too.

    I don’t remember if the collar was blue. I didn’t touch her as I wanted to be cautious with an unknown dog and I didn’t want to upset her anymore.

    It’s hard to explain but this experience has had a profound impact on me. Early this morning when she and her buddy were at the top of SW Austin Street (I now know the name of that weird little hill behind my house!) after she was hit and I was asking her from 30 feet away if she was ok and needed help (like a looney), there was a special kind of exchange between us. I know it sounds completely nuts but it’s true.

    I don’t understand how someone could hit a sentient being and just leave them like the driver did. I’m hoping they were on their way to witness their dying mother’s last breath or something as equally significant. Then maybe I’d understand…?

    Unless the owner lets us all know here how Lulu is, we have been informed that due to privacy we can’t get status updates on her progress.

  • Beth May 29, 2014 (7:34 pm)

    Jennifer-being the handler of a registered therapy and crisis response dog, I can tell you firsthand that you are not (nuts) and that indeed there IS a connection between dogs and humans-who-care. Make no mistake, you impacted Lulu life, too. She won’t forget you.
    And, thank you for caring enough to do the right thing.

  • Gayle May 29, 2014 (7:58 pm)

    Jennifer, I’m so so grateful that there are still people around that will go to such great lengths to help another living being. Your mother must be very proud!!
    Thank you to everyone that assisted, with a special thanks to the Burien AC officer that stepped in and saved the day (and dog). I’m hoping the owner will share updates with us.

  • Brenda May 29, 2014 (9:35 pm)

    Jennifer,

    Thank you so very much for caring and investigating and saving LuLu’s sweet life. Our pets are SO innocent and precious.

    I’m so happy for you that in all those crazy scary intense moments, you did share a special connection moment with her. She trusted you and knew you were there for HER.

    You seriously are such a brave kind person,

    I wish you were my neighbor.

    Thank you,
    Brenda

  • Laura May 29, 2014 (11:51 pm)

    Thank-you to Jennifer and the police officer for their compassion. Lulu has angels. The person who hit her could take a lesson in compassion from the Border collie. So angry!

  • Kravitz May 30, 2014 (10:19 am)

    Thanks to everyone who helped this sweet Lulu, especially Jennifer who witnessed it and came to her aid. It is wonderful to know we have people like this in our community, which is what makes West Seattle such a great place to live. It is truly sad that this happened, but we should remember that accidents do happen. We don’t know how Lulu got out. Her owners (parents) are likely hurting terribly right now, so let’s be kind and supportive rather than blaming and scolding. As for the driver that hit and left the animal, they did a horrible shameful thing. Hopefully the incident will be prominent in their conscience for a long, long time and they can think about their actions and learn from them.

  • westsidemegan May 30, 2014 (10:34 am)

    Clark5080 and kh…I’m not sure you understand that both actions of the dog being loose and the driver first hitting the dog are accidents. Accidents happen. As a driver, you have the responsibility to be aware of your surroundings and avoid collisions. Accidents happen. Dogs, kids, people and bike riders all can run out in front of you. That doesn’t mean we need to keep them all on leashes or that it means it is okay to leave the scene of an accident. The driver has a duty to ensure that anything injured gets proper attention. Thus, that’s why it is a crime to leave the scene of an accident. What initially may not have had any traffic violations has now become a crime. The only malicious act in this event is by the driver of that vehicle. That driver stopped, got out and obviously saw that they accidentally hit a living and loving being. After seeing that, they intentionally ran it over again and then left the scene. That is reprehensible behavior and you should be ashamed that you feel it is solely the dogs and its owners fault.
    Jennifer, thank you and god bless you for having the compassion to see to it that this animal got the attention it needed. I am happy you are my Highland Park & Riverview neighbor!
    Thankfully Lulu has been reunited with her family and this story does have a happier ending than what could’ve been!

  • goleta May 30, 2014 (12:51 pm)

    Thanks to Jennifer for making an awful situation much better. If someone helped my dog in a similar situation I would be extremely grateful. Healing thoughts to Lulu.

  • flimflam May 30, 2014 (1:26 pm)

    Big applause for Jennifer! i’m sure it was a very difficult ordeal for you to witness and be a part of – thank you so much for your kindness and willingness to do the right thing.

  • Jennifer May 30, 2014 (1:36 pm)

    I truely appreciate the thanks and support. I do feel the need to bring attention to the 6 other people who were just as willing as I was to help Lulu Thursday morning after I went back when it was light out. The woman whose house Lulu found refuge next to (I’m sorry I forget her name), Nancy (the block watch captain), Nancy’s daughter, Nick, the Burien animal control officer (I also forget his name) and Penny the paramedic who rushed back to her street to help just as Lulu was being loaded for transport.

    The great thing in this sad event to me is that it was a community effort and there seem to be lots of people who are willing to help. Yes the driver who hit her did a horrific thing by backing up over her after clearly seeing what was under their car, which by the way I am having a hard time unseeing in my mind, but look what came out of it! That’s what I focused on. There was a need and people showed up to help. It’s beautiful.

  • K'lo May 30, 2014 (9:14 pm)

    The animal control person that helped in this situation was Ray Helms, from CARES, a non-profit compassionate, no kill shelter in Burien. These folks always go above and beyond.

  • ScubaFrog May 31, 2014 (12:37 pm)

    Who do we call if we hit an animal? I hit a cat 18 years ago, and it ran off – we scoured the area. I mean should we take the animal to a 24/hr vet hospital? Wouldn’t it be theft though, if you take the animal?

    This is a troubling trend – hearing about people hitting cyclists/cars/animals and driving off as if nothing happened.

Sorry, comment time is over.