Dog recovering after being hit by car

She goes by Ollie, because the children with special needs she visited had trouble saying Olive, the dog’s real name.

All her six years, the tawny-colored German shepherd was a walking definition of her breed’s purpose — to serve humans. She also visited hospitalized children and homeless people, acting as a conduit for communication with her comforting presence.

Then at around 5:30 p.m. Dec. 26, Ollie’s world and the lives of those who love her were shattered. Ollie, though highly-trained and obedient, could not resist the urge to chase a cat. She ran into the side of a car on Behrens Road in Jim Thorpe.

Ollie’s owner Racheal Lynne DeRosa, DeRosa’s boyfriend Bryan Popance, and Scott Lignore raced to her side. The incident occurred at the end of Lignore’s driveway. The driver stayed to help.

“I’m a very strong person,” DeRosa said. “I can’t even begin to describe my emotions.”

DeRosa could tell that one of Ollie’s legs was broken and knew the dog shouldn’t be moved. She asked Popance to get her truck, which was parked up the driveway next to Lignore’s barn. The initial driver had stopped with his car lights facing oncoming traffic, and Popance soon arrived with her truck.

They saw that another vehicle was coming.

“Scott was waving, jumping up and down, trying to get the driver’s attention,” DeRosa said. “There are two stopped vehicles in the road with lights on and three people — there is no way a driver can miss that if they are watching ahead.”

The people barely escaped; Ollie lay helpless in the road.

“The first driver pushed Scott out of the way, Scott pushed me out of the way, and the vehicle just runs right over her,” DeRosa said. “No brake lights and Ollie goes flying.”

The driver of the second vehicle, stopped, but left when the scene when people confronted her.

Popance and DeRosa loaded Ollie and raced to Valley Central Veterinary Referral and Emergency in Whitehall. Upon their arrival, the emergency veterinarian administered CPR and pain medication.

“I didn’t think she was going to make it,” DeRosa said. “Before they took her in for surgery, I hugged her and kissed her and whispered to her that if she had to let go, it was OK.”

“She did look at us and wag her tail,” she said.

Ollie had three broken legs and seven broken ribs. Ollie survived an initial surgery to stabilize her and set her broken femur, and also received a blood transfusion. She was on a ventilator. Monday afternoon she had further surgery on her broken front legs.

The veterinarian described Ollie’s injuries as “the most horrific” she’d ever seen.

Monday morning, DeRosa was second-guessing herself. Should she have opted to have Ollie euthanized? Was her friend in pain? Could she recover from her injuries?

“Then the vet called me and said that she was doing wonderful, that she was licking people and wagging her tail,” DeRosa said. “She said that most dogs wouldn’t have survived, but that Ollie was a fighter.”

By Tuesday morning she was up and walking, with a “help me” harness and was moved out of intensive care.

She could possibly be released to go home Friday or Saturday.

“I always knew she was a strong girl but I never in my wildest dreams thought she could endure such a horrific trauma and bounce back,” DeRosa said. “Ollie is a super dog to say the least! OMG! She’s coming home!”

DeRosa said she still feels as if she’s in shock. Friends have started a GoFundMe account, which is on Facebook under Saving Ollie.

“I keep replaying it over and over in my mind,” she said. “I haven’t heard from the second driver, and I feel she should make an apology.

“If it were me, with my conscience, I’d have to go back (to where it happened),” she said. “I’d want to say I was sorry and see if there was anything I could do.”