KENORA — When Jillian Puls spotted a little animal in the ditch, she at first thought it might be a baby deer.
But when she pulled over to check, she found it was a chihuahua in distress.
Although the Kenora-area woman didn't know it at the time, the dog had fled the scene of a tragic collision Monday morning that claimed the life of its owner perhaps 20 minutes earlier.
OPP reported later that three transport trucks were involved in the collision on Highway 17A, and that two of the drivers were fatally injured.
Puls had been on her way to work around the same time.
"I could hear sirens before I left my house. Then I saw a fire truck and thought that somebody's house must be on fire or something. I didn't piece it all together because I didn't know,."
Later, she came upon the dog perhaps two kilometres from the accident site.
"I pulled over and got out of my truck and noticed this little chihuahua distraught, and I thought 'Oh my goodness. I've gotta get you.' "
Puls took off her jacket and got nipped trying to wrap it around the dog so she could pick it up, but eventually got it into her vehicle.
"He was freezing," she said. "I brought it to the vet, and after that I found out it was from the accident."
The dog's only apparent injury was an abrasion on its head.
Wanting to ensure the dog was returned to the family of the deceased trucker, Puls took a photo of it and posted it to social media, where it was reposted by the Skilled Truckers Canada Facebook group.
Word that the driver's travelling companion had survived the collision eventually got through, and Puls said Tuesday morning that she had already had a conversation with a family member.
She said the dog and its owner had had an extremely close bond.
"I'm emotional right now. It's so sad...He's an older dog, and he doesn't like anybody else. That's what breaks my heart. That was his dog."
Puls said she was told arrangements are in the works for the family to retrieve it from the veterinary clinic in Kenora.
OPP continue to investigate Monday's collision.
