After leading police officers to the site of a car accident that caused her owner severe hypothermia and injury, a dog from New Hampshire was being called a ‘Lassie’.
Tinsley is a Shiloh Shepherd-breed dog that was one year old. Tinsley ran into Interstate 89 at Hartford on Monday night, near the Vermont border. This alerted motorists and the highway patrol.
Tinsley, who was mistakenly thought to be a stray when police arrived on the spot, continued running. She ran away from them and tried to run after them. The officers followed her into Vermont and spotted the gap in the guard rail. There they found the pickup truck had been damaged and was rolled over.
Tinsley’s 31-year-old owner Cam Laundry was among the two people thrown out of the car. They were already experiencing hypothermia. Justin Connors (40), was the passenger. He was described as ‘fine’ and escaped with only minor injuries.
Tinsley, a Shiloh Shiphard one year old, ran to New Hampshire State Police Monday to get them to where her owner, and another passenger, were hurt and suffered from hypothermia following their truck’s flip in Hartford, New Hampshire.
Cam Laundry, Tinsley’s owner, and Justin Connors were at the scene of the serious car crash. On Monday, New Hampshire’s border to Vermont, they found Justin Connors and Tinsley, 41, injured.
“It soon became obvious that Tinsley led law enforcement to the crash site, and injured occupants,” New Hampshire police stated in a Facebook statement.
Daniel Baldassarre, a New Hampshire officer who was interviewed by local media channel WCVB said that they could see the dog trying to communicate something to them. She kept running away but not completely.
It was kinda, Follow me. Follow me. Follow me.
Baldassarre stated, “I kinda compare it with, for those who recall, a real life ‘Lassie” story in which the person in distress is taken to their dog and then the dog gets help.
Captain Jack Hedges, Hartford’s fire chief, said that the rescue crew began treating the injured dog as if it were a patient.
Tinsley’s owner stated that Tinsley would receive venison as a reward for saving her life.
Laundry wasn’t seriously injured in the accident, but Tinsley said that Tinsley would be greatly rewarded for his intelligence and dedication.
He told WCVB that he called her his little guardian angel. “It is a miracle she was able to have that intelligence and do the things she did.”
A spokesperson for Vermont State Police said that the Vermont State Police is opening an investigation to determine what caused the crash.
Laundry admitted in interview that he was drinking earlier that evening, but said that he doesn’t believe that alcohol had any adverse effects on his driving.
Laundry declared, “It was certainly a wakeup call.” It could have been worse.