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Kamloops  

'Dog purposely hit'

Alanna Kelly

Kelly Pantalone couldn’t believe what she witnessed in Kamloops early Saturday night.

She was driving down Batchelor Hills Drive just before the Halston Avenue overpass around 7 p.m. when she noticed a dog running down the right side of the hill.

“It was running scared from something and, at the intersection, it darted out into the middle of the road and there was a jeep coming down the hill with us and it was in the left lane,” she said. “The jeep sped up when it saw the dog in the middle of the road. It swerved into the dog on purpose.”

Pantalone called bylaw and police to report the incident, which she believed was intentional.

“I just started freaking out, it was terrible to see, it was really bad,” she said. “Who could do something like that?”

She posted her tale of the tragic event in multiple Facebook groups because she knew someone would be wondering where their dog had gone.

And that is how the owner found out her missing dog was killed after being struck by a jeep.

Stephanie McGinty was frantically trying to find her dog, Lucky, Saturday evening, after he ran away from the Batchelor Heights area.

McGinty posted in a Facebook group that she was missing her dog and people connected her to Pantalone.

While the driver of the jeep fled the scene, a witness took Lucky to the vet and stayed with the dog the entire time.

McGinty said she hopes someone may know something about the person who hit the dog.

“Clearly, this gentleman had intentions to hit my dog,” said McGinty. “It is sick, and people should watch out for people like this."

After word broke about the incident, another man said his dog was hit in the same area by a vehicle that fits the same description. He is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who can identify the driver.

The vehicle is believed to be a black or blue Jeep, less than 10 years old, which has two doors and may have damage to the front of the vehicle.



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