Dog left for dead in hit and run

A beloved family dog was left “looking like Frankenstein” after it was hit by a motorist who sped off with the dog still on the bonnet of his car.
Dog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea GreenDog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea Green
Dog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea Green

Now his owner and her teenage children say they have been left traumatised by the shocking injuries suffered by their labradoodle.

Self-employed mother-of-three Michelle Norton was walking five-year-old Bentley in Wrea Green when the incident happened on Saturday.

The dog suffered serious cuts to its face, body and legs.

Michelle Norton with dog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea GreenMichelle Norton with dog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea Green
Michelle Norton with dog Bentley who was struck by a hit and run driver in Wrea Green
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Mrs Norton, 40, said: “We’d come out of Manor Road and were just about to cross the road to The Green.

“Bentley went forward, but I pulled him back and only his chest was over the pavement when a car came from nowhere, travelling very fast, about 40 miles per hour, I think.

“The car was up to the edge of the kerb when it slammed into Bentley’s chest and there was a huge bang.

“The impact lifted the dog on to the bonnet.

“The driver had his arm resting on an open window, and I heard him swear, but he didn’t stop and continued at the same speed towards Warton, with Bentley on the bonnet.

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“I was horrified, so shocked and I tried to run after the car.

“But I had my friend’s spaniel, Lucy, with me, so I to put her in my car, and then went in the direction of the car to try to find him. I thought he would have fallen off the car, so I looked in gardens, under hedges and in wheelie bins.

“I phoned my sons, Kyle, 17, and Harley, 15, who came to help me. My ex husband Iain, who lives in Wesham, drove around the area, searching for Bentley.”

Eventually Bentley was discovered bleeding from his wounds in a garden several hundred yards from where he was hit by the car.

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Mrs Norton said: “I phoned sround different vets and Rowan’s said they’d had a call from someone who had an injured dog in their garden.

“A friend took me straight there.

“He looked dreadful, bleeding and torn.

“He’d been growling because of his pain, but he let me approach him and I managed to put a blanket around him.”

Now the family face an anxious wait to discover whether Bentley will recover from his injuries.

“We took him to the vet. Bentley has severe lacerations to all four legs and his face,” said Mrs Norton.

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“We don’t know if he has any broken bones as he’d suffered some trauma to his heart and wasn’t strong enough for the vet to administer an anaesthetic.

“I thought he wasn’t going to make it through the night. He couldn’t even lift his head.

“My daughter, Poppy, 13, couldn’t bear to go and see him. He has so many staples in his face, head and legs that he looks like Frankenstein.

“When the impact happened, a bit of the grill of the car came off, and the serial number on the back indicates it may be a 3 series BMW.

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“The driver was bald and I think he was between 40 and 50-years-old.

“Bentley is not eating or drinking yet, but he’s just come home.

“He’s on so many pills, antibiotics and pain killers, and will be back at the vet’s on Friday, before, hopefully being able to have an X-ray next week to see if he has any fractures or ligament injuries.

“It’s horrendous to think that someone could be so heartless as to drive off after hitting a dog, with the animal on the bonnet.”

Police confirmed the incident had been reported to them.

If anyone can help with any information please contact the police on 101.

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