A heartbroken dog owner in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, said her pet was killed in a hit-and-run right in front of her. Police hope surveillance video will lead them to the driver.
Carley Cook was walking her 6-year-old mixed breed rescue dog named Ajax near her home late Tuesday night. They normally walked at this time and Ajax was often off leash, but Cook said she always carries one and Ajax stayed close by while wearing a light around his collar. Cook said she was just 200 yards from her house.
"Out of nowhere, I saw a truck starting to come towards us like at a very high rate of speed," she told WBZ-TV.
Cook said she yelled and waved at the driver to slow down but it didn't work. Ajax was hit.
"He yelped and then he kind of ran a couple yards away and so I ran. I was screaming. I was screaming the entire time and I ran after him. I picked him up and I was begging the gentleman to please help me," Cook said. "He got out of the car, but he didn't offer any assistance. He didn't come over to me, he didn't come over to the dog."
Cook said the man then drove away. It happened so fast she didn't get the license plate number on his truck. She grabbed Ajax and carried him home. She took him to an emergency veterinarian where he was pronounced dead.
Surveillance video from a garage nearby showed the truck police are looking for, a four-door, black Ford F-150 with an open bed and no cover.
They are asking anyone who lives near Union Street, Beach Street, Masconomo Street, Proctor Street, or Smith's Point to review home surveillance cameras between Tuesday at midnight and Wednesday morning at 12:30 a.m.
"If you know something, say something. Nothing's going to bring Ajax back, but maybe it would just provide a little bit of closure to my family," Cook said.
Town law allows dogs to be off their leash as long as they are within a voice command distance of their owner and that appeared to be the case in this incident.
"He would just, you know, put a smile on everybody's face. He was a great dog," said Cook.
