Doreen Ford of Isabelle Vets with Coby the injured greyhound. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0874061)
A GREYHOUND’S front leg was broken in more than 100 places when she was hit by a car – and the driver failed to stop.
Police say the driver has since contacted them.
Andrew Falconer and his wife Gillian, a midwife, were faced with the heart-breaking decision of whether to put down seven-year-old Coby.
As a puppy, she was one of 45 malnourished or dead greyhounds found abandoned in Aberdeen. The couple, who live in Summerfield Road, Vale, have owned the rescue dog for five-and-a-half years. It is one of their four dogs – three greyhounds and a three-legged mongrel.
‘We had a choice of putting her to sleep or trying to rebuild her leg, but I’ve got to give her a chance,’ said Mr Falconer, a stock processor at HMV.
He was putting the dogs into his van just after 1pm on Monday when his mongrel saw a cat across the road.
‘He bolted from the van across the road and the others followed,’ said Mr Falconer. He got one greyhound back in his front garden and two dogs jumped back into the van, but a car heading towards Bordeaux hit Coby.
He said he appreciated it was mostly his fault but could not understand why the driver did not stop. ‘I can’t believe how anyone can be so disgusting, to hit a dog that hard and just drive off.’
A vet said Coby’s front right leg had been ‘pulped’ and broken in over 100 places. She will be operated on today. Metal plates will be used to help strengthen and repair her leg and four external fixators will also be attached.
Amputation is not an option because Coby’s other front leg has previously been broken and is too weak.
Mr Falconer is originally from Glasgow, where he was involved in the rescue and rehousing of greyhounds.
He now helps the Greyhound Rescue Centre in Jersey. If one is to be rehoused in Guernsey, he does a check on the prospective owner.
‘I really believe in greyhounds. I think that what happens to them in their racing life is disgusting. Quite often, they just get dumped or destroyed,’ he said.
Coby has never been a racing greyhound and her life expectancy is 12-15 years.
‘It was a high-impact crash. I heard the bang, so there is no way the driver was not aware that something had happened,’ said Mr Falconer.
He did not see the car because he was concentrating on his dog.
‘I assumed the car would have pulled over, but it didn’t. I was in shock after it happened and had trouble sleeping.’
Article posted on 19th November, 2009 - 2.29pm
25 Article Comments
Well it could have been a lot worse had that car driver taken evading action and maybe killed a human or two.Dogs near or on roads should be safely on the lead,and under control of their owners.Would this item have appeared had the dogs caught and torn to pieces that cat?And it is a known fact that some people panic from shock after an accident,but looks like this driver did the right thing by turning himself in,good on him!
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This is a sad lesson in responsible dog ownership, and it is a pity that the dog is the victim.
It sounds like all this happened on or near a very busy road, so with 4 dogs to control, I cannot understand why they were not all on the lead – then there would have been no accident.
Yes, the driver should have stopped, but my guess is that they would not have stood much chance of avoiding an excited dog (or several?) running into the road, and it is good that they have now owned up, but I would like to think that the police will be asking the owner some questions about his responsibility to control the dogs as well.
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I take it from your comments you’re not a pet lover then Donald ?
My pet cat was knocked down and killed and believe me it is like losing a human companion. The heartache and pain during the first few days was incredible. Whilst this was out of our hands I would hate to have to make a decision as to whether or not to have my pet put down.
Humans can be as big a danger to drivers too. How many people step out in front of a car without looking ? How many people cross roads in dangerous places e.g near parked cars ? It is just as serious having to swerve to miss some complete drunken prat who didn’t look before crossing the road !!
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Mr Remfrey
You state in another thread that you are only here in the summer. Please be sure to advise all on this forum of when you will be in the island so I can keep well clear of the roads. And make sure that my children do to. Anyone who is driving safely has no reason to hit anything – whether it be a dog, a cat, a hedgehog or a child. All are unpredictably, but all inhabit our environment. Cars are the unnatural element here and their drivers should respect this, and drive more safely!!
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Hey Remfrey….
Why dont you go stick your head in a bucket of hot water for 5 minutes!!
This was a terrible accident which could have been worse but you could be a little sympathetic.
Your obviously not a fan of animals and feel that it serves the dog and the owner right!
Well shame on you Remfrey!
Lets just hope that this doesnt happen to something you love………
GD.
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Belinda
“Anyone who is driving safely has no reason to hit anything – whether it be a dog, a cat, a hedgehog or a child.”
I’m afraid this comment is completely untrue as you appear to be suggesting that if everyone drove safely there would never be any accidents on the road! Although I agree that there would be fewer, unfortunately in the real world accidents happen even to the safest and most responsible drivers. This is because as you rightly point out the world is an unpredictable place and not even the safest driver doing a low speed could avoid a child (or drunken prat) that suddenly ran out in front of them.
In a similar incident to the one reported here, a few years back my mother hit a dog while driving – if memory serves it ran out of a gateway in front of her car. She is one of the safest, most careful drivers around – as well as a dog owner/lover. Naturally she was upset however it was an unavoidable accident, one of those unpredictable events that happens in the real world – not a result of unsafe driving.
As an afterthought it’s worth noting that before cars were around people were having accidents riding horses…which are a “natural” form of transport.
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Belinda, I don`t agree. Even if someone is driving sensibly and at reasonable speed, he would not stand a chance of avoiding, for example, a dog that suddenly comes running out of a gate right in front of the car. This happened to me once. Such accidents are unavoidable – or should we all drive everywhere at 5mph?!
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Belinda,be realistic, its doesnt matter how safely you drive if a child/ adult or animal runs into you or in front of your car you dont have much chance of avoiding them.
I cant understand the Remfrey bashing either, i cant see why his comments are offending people and before you jump to conclusions i do love animals and have a dog and cats of my own.
It was a terrible accident and i hope the dog recovers from the surgery.Whilst the car driver cant be blamed for the accident they should not have driven off.
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Poor Coby and poor owners. This is clearly a family who love their animals and will go to many lengths to keep them safe. I have a dog who was hit by a car and has three pins and bolts in her leg. It is a long process but does work. Do not give up Mr and Mrs Falconer. A dog is every bit as valuable as a child.
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Lot of sensible comment here,and John,if you knew what I do for the animals around me you’d hardly describle me as “not a pet lover”.And Belinda,I have now been driving 63years without harming a hair of a human or animal,so you and your kids will be quite safe.And GD,insulting comment I treat with the contempt it deserves.
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I don’t understand why people are criticising Donald Remfrey’s post – it’s perfectly acceptable to say that it could have been much worse if the driver had taken evasive actions and killed a person instead. It’s also true that dogs on or near roads should be kept on a lead (particularly when there was 4 of them!!) And to all of you people who say a dog is just as important as a child (and I do agree with you) you wouldn’t let your child go running off so why allow a dog?
And it’s also true that some people panic after an accident but as Mr Remfrey says, the driver has now been to the Police and fair play to him/her for doing so.
And as for Belinda saying that anyone who is driving safely has no reason to hit anything, that’s absolute rubbish. Even the safest of drivers can’t predict when something is going to come tearing out of a gateway and run into their car.
This is an unfortunate and sad accident and I suspect that the Guernsey Press is making a big deal out of it because of the background to the story i.e. being a rescue dog. I’m intrigued by the Press’s comment about it being one of 45 malnourished or dead dogs – was it malnourished or was it dead? Stupid editorial by the Press again.
It must have been very upsetting for the owners, I’ve watched a loved cat get run over when it followed me to the main road and I know how awful it is. I hope Coby makes a good recovery.
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A pet just as important as a child?
God if i thought my pet rabbit was as important as my daughter i think i would go straight to the doctor for help.
I also dont see anything wrong with D R post.
Hope the dog in question gets well soon.
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“A dog is every bit as valuable as a child.”
In your opinion however it is not one I share. I own a dog and have a young daughter. Rest assured although my dog is a much loved pet, my daughter (or any other child for that matter) is of infinitely greater worth.
If I thought for one second my dog was a danger to a child I would have her put down. If I thought a dog was going to attack my daughter or another child, I would use whatever means necessary (including deadly force) to protect her without a moment’s hesitation. A child is of infinitely greater value than any dog.
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Further to my previous post and to clarify in case of misunderstanding – of course if our dog started showing signs of “un-friendliness” to our daughter we would try to find a new adult-only home for her first; it would only be if she actually attacked our daughter or another child that we would have her put down.
Fortunately she is really friendly to our daughter who, even at 3 months, is interacting with her. I’m convinced one of the reasons for this friendliness is that our dog knows her place at the bottom of the “pack” hierachy.
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I do hope that doggy suvives as I do know how important dogs are to some people,and in many cases are an inportant factor in their health.Oddly the wife and I were walking in the local Castle grounds and we met a guy with a dog,and guess what,the dog had three legs!This was today,we chatted with the guy and he told us the dog,when a puppy,got caught up in a fence and the vet had no choice but to amputate.The dog seemed unaware of his disablement,and the guy said his dog was perfectly happy.
So I wish all in Guernsey a pleasant weekend,don’t forget the lead though when you take Fiffi out to do whatever dogs do when out!
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I can see both sides to this, the driver perhaps could’ve been a bit more careful, but in all seriousness it’s quite easy to not realise you’ve hit anything, it might’ve been a pothole!
But even so, the dogs should’ve been on leads, and the owners should’ve taken more concern.
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Oh blimey, I see I need to be careful what I say on here – I made the comment about a pet being as important as a child so the animal rights bashers wouldn’t have a go at me!! But all the parents did instead – oops. Of course your child would be more important than a pet but the point is, you wouldn’t let a child run out into the road so why let your dog or anything for that matter?? Roads are dangerous places. That’s the real crux of the point I was trying to make.
Personally I’d rather have a dog than a child….but that’s not important to this thread!
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I hope the Press do a follow up to this story as I understand the driver did stop and the owner quickly called the 3 dogs in. One can only assume that at that time , as the dog was able to move quickly away the injury was not immediatey apparent. Was the owner concerned of being liable for causing an accident? are the animals licensed? or insured? and does the cost of repairing the dogs injury have any bearing on the owner trying to shift the blame of the accident? I hope , for once, the outcome is published as all too often things are reported in a headline grabbing way and readers are left to draw their own conclusions to who was really to blame.
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I see VQ, trying to get some brownie points eh…with populism like that you should be in politics! ;-)
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Thought it might be interesting for some of you to know what the Motoring Organisations and Police advise on the Continent,bearing in mind that speeds on motorways etc are much higher than in Guernsey.So the advice is,if you are driving and are suddenly confronted by an animal on the road in front of you grip the steering wheel firmly,do not swerve or brake hard as this may cause you to swerve either into the oncoming traffic,or a tree,with dire consequenses.If you hit the animal you are required to inform the police(remain where you are till they arrive)The local Forester will then be asked to either put a humane end to the animals suffering,or remove its body.One may ask,”why not brake hard or take evading action”,well there is just not time to consider these options.And remember too,a sudden “evading action” by pulling the wheeel left or right will be enough alone to cause an accident,especially if the car is not fitted with ESR, ASP and other electronc devices.And of course,if the road is wet or icy———–!!!!!!
And if you see the sign warning of animals crossing the road,SLOW DOWN,I learnt a lesson a few months ago,we had been out to dinner in the country,were driving home in the dark,70KPH speed limit,and the animal warning sign.Can’t say why,but something told me to slow down,and suddenly a small herd of deer appeared in front of me,and I was able to stop in time.Had I been doing the 70KPH I would have hit them without doubt!
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hi, the dogs involved here all had leads on, they jumped out the van when the 4 were being put inside
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Hi,
I need to comment about Mr Falconer 4 dogs. I live by Mr Falconer. A number of times I have seen his dogs around on the roads by they self’s. It was only the other month he lost one of dogs for a number of weeks!!!
I have never seen Mr Falconer put leads on his dogs when putting them in his van or when he walks them up the road.
Poor Coby, a very sweet dog. I hope you gets better soon.
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I just have to have my say about the previous comments. I am also a neighbour of Mr Falconer. I know for a fact and have witnessed that the dogs are always walked with their leads. So the previous “Neighbour” comments are utter rubbish!
Also about the other comment by the “Neighbour” – do you know why the dog went missing?? No I suppose you don’t. There were builders working on the house and they left the back garden gate open!! So that was why the dog escaped from the back garden. The dog was found after 8 days. Mr Falconer and his friends had been searching every day until it was found.
It just makes me so irrate that such NOSEY “Neighbours” can get all the facts soooo wrong!
We should just be happy that Coby appears to be on the long road to recovery.
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I wonder just how fair is is on the poor creature to try to repair the leg. As he already has one weak leg and is clearly going to suffer a great deal of pain during his recovery, a recovery which is not guaranteed, I personally would have put the poor thing down, it is the one thing we can do for our animals that we are not allowed to do for our family!
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dogs were on lead, mistake was van door was open to let older dog in
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