Photo: Medical Mutts Service Dogs
A dog who walked himself home after his owner was killed in a hit-and-run in Nashville, Tennessee, is working on a fresh start.
The pooch — named Patch — was on a walk with his female owner, who was visually impaired, when the incident occurred on March 22,according to NBC affiliate WSMV.
After the hit-and-run, the dog was placed in the care ofMetro Animal Care and Control (MACC), which attempted to find a family member of the pet’s late owner to claim Patch. No next of kin was found, but that doesn’t put an end to Patch’s future.
“We have had a few rescue groups reach out about him already. It does appear he might have had a life as a service dog, in which case a rescue that works with service animals could be a good match for him. That’s all kind of premature at this point, though, as right now, our main focus is still on locating his family,” Matthews Peters, a representative from MACC, told WSMV about Patch shortly after the dog arrived in the shelter’s care.
Medical Mutts Service Dogs
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After it became clear no one connected to Patch’s late owner was available to take over care of the dog, MACC reached out toMedical Mutts Service Dogs.
“Patch’s owner didn’t have any next of kin, so he found himself without a home. When they learned that Patch had been his handler’s service dog, they reached out to us,” Kelsey Burton, the director of development at Medical Mutts Service Dogs, tells PEOPLE.
Medical Mutts is a nonprofit that trainsrescue dogs to be service animalsand promotes collaboration between dogs and people through research, education, and ethical training.
“Unlike the majority of service dog organizations, we use shelter dogs for our programs. Therefore, we have great partnerships with many shelters and rescues. We have been partners with Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control for years. We frequently pull dogs from their shelter to come to our facility as service dog candidates,” Burton says, adding that about 1 in 4 of the organization’s canine trainees become service dogs, while the others are adopted out.
Medical Mutts is confident that Patchwill do great in trainingand make a phenomenal friend and service animal to whoever he is matched with next.
“When we are looking at shelters and rescues for service dog candidates, we look for specific traits. We look for dogs with the right temperament, the right age, the right physical traits, and the right health. Patch fit all of these qualifications. Plus, after we learned his story, we knew we had to help turn his story of tragedy into a story of hope,” Burton says.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said it is investigating the hit-and-run that killed Patch’s owner and is looking for witnesses to the incident.
To learn more about Medical Mutts and how to support the nonprofit’s work,visit the organization’s website.
source: people.com
