Family seeks puppy after I-79 accident
Zink, a 6-month-old brown, black and white puppy, went missing after an accident Monday on Interstate 79, just north of the Ruff Creek exit.
An Erie County family is hoping someone finds their dog, Zink, who fled from the family's vehicle following an accident Monday on Interstate 79.
An Erie County family was extremely fortunate no one was injured when their vehicle skidded on ice, crashed through guardrails and overturned several times before coming to rest on an embankment Monday on Interstate 79, about a mile north of the Ruff Creek Exit.
Jaushlynn Anderson Engle, her 3-week-old son, Benson, and her mother-in-law, were returning home after taking Engle’s husband, Tyler, to Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C., where he is stationed. But around 4:30 p.m., their lives were turned upside down, literally, when their vehicle went out of control.
But while the family came out of the accident relatively unscathed, the Engle’s 6-month-old puppy, Zink, bolted from the vehicle after the accident and has not been seen since.
Once Engle knew her son and her husband’s mother were safe, her instinct was to look for Zink. He had exited the vehicle so quickly she did not see which direction he went. However, some of the people who stopped to help after the crash did.
“They said he ran across the southbound lane and down the hill,” Engle said. “I wanted to go after him and call for him but they wouldn’t let me because it was so slippery.”
Engle said Zink was wearing a red collar with a rabies tag attached to it when he fled the vehicle.
Zink is brownish-black with some white and is a mixed breed.
Hundreds of people have joined the Finding Zink Facebook page, created by Engle, to offer suggestions, support and share Zink’s story in an effort to help reunite the young soldier with his dog.
Homeowners in the area of the crash report people knocking on their doors to alert them of the lost dog. Others have been driving around the area looking and calling Zink’s name.
Engle is especially concerned for his safety as temperatures in the area are expected to dip into the single digits overnight.
“Our dog is my husband’s very best friend and such a huge part of our family,” Engle said. They got the dog as a family pet but she said, “Tyler picked him out. He belongs to both of us but those two have a very close bond. It is just different with them,” she said. Engle said Zink is a “very sweet and friendly dog I am sure he is scared to death.”
Engle pleads if anyone has seen Zink or knows someone who has to call her at 814-881-6509.
Also, anyone who may have come across the dog can call the Greene County office of the Observer-Reporter at 724-852-2602, or Greene County Humane Society at 724-627-9988.