FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A small dog is back in her owner’s arms, one day after she got lost on Fort Lauderdale Beach and was struck by a van driver who fled the scene, but luckily for the injured canine, Good Samaritans came to her rescue.
7News cameras captured 7-year-old Lilly as she was held by her owner, Gwendolyn Collins, Friday afternoon, about 24 hours after they were separated.
Collins knows it’s a reunion that almost didn’t happen.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I love you, I love you,” she said to her pet, a Chihuahua mix.
Collins said she was walking Lilly along A1A on Thursday when her dog darted off.
“I was losing grip of my other dog — he’s little bit bigger — so I set her down for a second so I could grip his hand a little bit better, and she took off running,” she said.
The 7-pound dog quickly got lost on the busy beach, but to make matters worse, she was hit by a van.
Jen Laviage and Juan Paredes said they witnessed the crash and ran to help.
“I saw a white van hit something, and not realizing until I got closer — I stopped the car and realized that it was a small dog,” said Laviage.
“I thought that the gentleman driving the car was going to stop, but he didn’t,” said Paredes. “He just hit the dog and, like, flew.”
Lilly was injured but awake.
“You can see the wounds. She was totally bleeding, but she was able to survive,” said Paredes.
The good Samaritans drove the dog to a veterinarian clinic to get her checked out.
It was there where the Chihuahua mix got another break. Doctors found she has a chip and an owner who was looking for her.
“She’s still walking around and everything. I’m just so happy my baby is home,” said Collins.
All thanks to two people who enough to stop.
“I really hope that people can do the same thing all over the nation,” said Paredes. “We need this to be done. People have to have kindness.”
Especially this year, Laviage said.
“It’s the best thing to come out of 2020,” she said.
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