Animal was dragged after falling out of truck

COEUR d'ALENE - Jennifer Clancy was loading up her two kids in the parking lot of Video Theater, on Government Way Thursday evening, when she saw a dog being dragged by the neck behind a pickup truck.

Clancy, 34, of Coeur d'Alene, immediately thought the dog likely fell or leaped out of the truck bed, remained tied to the truck, and the driver apparently didn't know what was happening.

The truck was headed north on Government way, and the dog was both attempting to run behind the truck and being dragged, said Clancy.

"He was running as fast as he could to keep up with the truck," she said.

She got her kids in the car - son Corbin, 6, and daughter Ashton, 2 - and raced to catch up with the driver to signal him to stop.

The dog, a golden retriever named Joey, finally slipped his collar several blocks north on Appleway Avenue, Clancy said. She caught the dog in a bank parking lot near the intersection of Appleway and Government Way. The dog was conscious and running free "on adrenaline," she said.

The dog's paws were worn down, "his nails were gone, he had deep gashes," Clancy said. "He was still really friendly."

Clancy loaded the injured and badly bleeding dog in her vehicle with her kids, and took him to North Idaho Pet Emergency, at 2700 E. Seltice Way.

"My son was great, he was holding the dog's feet, and trying to keep them from bleeding," Clancy said. "He was definitely keeping the dog more calm."

She said she took the dog to Post Falls because she knew he could get treatment right away.

"Based on the way he looked, it appeared his injuries needed to be addressed immediately," Clancy said.

Clancy said she later talked by phone with the dog's owner, a Spokane resident, who told her that he had lost track of the dog while exiting or driving on Interstate 90, near the U.S. 95 exit.

Sgt. Jeff Walther, of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, said the incident was an accident.

"The owner didn't know the dog had jumped out of the back," Walther said. "It was fortunate that (Clancy) was there to witness it all and help."

Walther and Clancy both said the dog has been released from the hospital and is at home recovering.

The dog's owner couldn't be reached for comment.