Dog survives coyote, hit-run

 

Zach is a 70-something-pound Australian shepherd who’s the apple of his owner’s eye – and just about everybody else’s, too.

Ten days ago, Zach tangled briefly with a coyote, then wound up on the receiving end of a hit and run accident, and is now healing at the Santa Ynez Valley Pet Hospital.

“Everybody’s praying for him,” said Bev Walter, his owner. “That’s how loved this dog is. He has such a marvelous disposition.”

Walter, a working cowboy (“don’t put cowgirl,” she admonished the reporter), was in the house when she got a call from Dr. Bob Dean.

“I have Zach and he’s been hit by a car,” the veterinarian told her.

Walter raced to the pet hospital and learned that a woman named Donna O’Toole had come upon the accident on Highway 154 and stopped.

 

“She was going east, saw a coyote running and Zach in the road,” Walter said. “She turned around and went right back. A pickup was there. The men in the pickup admitted to O’Toole that they had hit Zach, and said, ‘Yeah, and it damaged our truck.’”

The men drove away but O’Toole got the license plate number and the accident was later reported to the California Highway Patrol.

“They never offered to help, didn’t even get out of the truck,” Walter said. ”It was a silver Chevy S-10. Later, she learned, they turned in a claim to their insurance office.”

 

While Walter awaits the disposition of the case from the CHP, she visits Zach at the hospital twice a day, hand-feeding him and cuddling him and telling him she loves him.

Zach will be in the hospital for a couple of weeks. He’s already been in for ten days. While the hospital bills pile up, Walter keeps up with her job, working on the ranch where her house is located, herding cattle and tending to ranch chores.

She is unable to establish a fund at her bank, Union Bank of California, because recent laws have done away with allowing collections to be set up in banks.

 

However, there are collection containers at El Rancho Market, 2886 Mission Dr. in Solvang, and County Market, 1000 Edison St. in Santa Ynez. People who know Walter and Zach, and others who have heard the story, are contributing to his medical care.

 

Zach has a broken femur in his left hind leg. His right hind leg was jerked out of its socket, and that’s mending, too. He has an I.V. giving him fluids and pain medication around the clock.

 

And this week, Walter has begun bringing him some cooked hamburger and feeding him a little bit at a time.

Yesterday, Walter said, “After his last feeding, he walked back to his cage.

“He’s so happy. He’s got such a loving personality. No complaining whatever.”