A dog named Hennessey is giving West Virginians a small moment of relief after an otherwise devastating highway tragedy. The pup, who survived a deadly tractor-trailer wreck on Interstate 64, is now back with her family.
What happened?
West Virginia MetroNews reported that Hennessey was riding in the cab with her owner, 62-year-old Jeffrey Simons of Wellsburg, Iowa, when the tractor-trailer went out of control while traveling west on Interstate 64 over the South Charleston-Dunbar Bridge.
The June 23 crash killed Simons, but people who stopped at the scene were able to get Hennessey out of the truck.
South Charleston police later took her to the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, where staff photographed the dog and shared the image on Facebook in hopes of finding her family.
MetroNews said Hennessey's family was identified and contacted the following day, and a week later, she had been reunited with them.
How was it resolved?
In this case, Good Samaritans, police, and shelter workers each played a part in protecting a dog that had just survived a terrifying crash.
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Local humane organizations can be critical in emergencies. A single shelter photo was enough to help reconnect a traumatized animal with her family after a cross-state trucking route ended in tragedy.
Angie Gillenwater, spokesperson for the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, described the ordeal in emotional terms.
"I was thinking this is a dog that has quite literally spent every second, of every day, of every year with this person, and the accident alone would have been enough to shake anybody up, but knowing something is wrong with her person thrown into that mix, I cannot imagine how confused and scared she was."
The outlet also said Gillenwater expressed gratitude to everyone who helped reunite Hennessey with her family.
Even in the middle of a heartbreaking crash, strangers came together to help one dog find her way home.
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