Dog lost in crash near Spencer last month will be reunited with its owner
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SPENCER – A woman from Canada will reunite with her dog this weekend following a crash in Spencer last month.
The 77-year-old woman, who wasn’t identified by law enforcement, was traveling with her husband along Interstate 15 near Spencer on Oct. 23. Clark County Sheriff Mark McClure told EastIdahoNews.com at the time that the couple was tired. Around 5:15 p.m., they approached milepost 182 about two miles north of Spencer and veered off the road.
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The driver overcorrected and ultimately flipped the vehicle upside down. The impact threw the man because he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The man, identified as Terry Bertamini, died at the scene of the crash.
The woman reportedly had non-life-threatening injuries. An ambulance crew took her to the hospital.
In a news release from Snake River Animal Shelter on Tuesday afternoon, Executive Director Michelle Ziel-Dingman says the couple had two dogs with them at the time, and one of them, Sadie, was later found at the scene of the crash with no injuries.
“Snake River Animal Shelter was contacted by law enforcement and happily agreed to hold onto the dog until her owner could reclaim her,” Ziel-Dingman writes.
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Their other dog, a dachshund named Tessa, was unaccounted for and shelter staff and emergency responders assumed she was dead.
The woman, who Ziel-Dingman identifies as Mrs. Bertamini, was eventually released from the hospital and returned to Canada with Sadie.
Last Thursday, Evan Smith, the animal control officer with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, called Ziel-Dingman and said Tessa had been spotted near the crash site. An animal shelter employee drove there right away and set a live trap in hopes of retrieving her.
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There was no sign of her all weekend. On Monday morning, Joe Branson and Kurt Beckstead with the Idaho Transportation Department checked the trap and Tessa was there.
“Tessa had survived!” Ziel-Dingman says in the news release. “Tessa’s owners’ son will be traveling from Canada to Idaho this Friday to bring her safely home.”
Ziel-Dingman is grateful for the “little miracle” that happened amid such a tragic time for the family.
“What an example of teamwork, community spirit, and love for animals!” Ziel-Dingman says. “A little light in the middle of heartbreak.”