A Labrador retriever puppy that was thrown from his owner’s car during a crash on U.S. Route 201 has been found and reunited with his family after surviving more than three weeks in the woods of East Madison.
Tucker, the 7-month-old puppy, was rescued Friday with the help of volunteers from Maine Lost Dog Recovery who set a live trap for the dog, said Chief Deputy James Ross of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
Ross said Tucker was on the verge of starvation when he was found, and pictures on the Maine Lost Dog Recovery Facebook page show a very skinny dog with his ribs showing. Maine Lost Dog Recovery did not immediately respond to requests for details Monday.
The nonprofit organization works with families of lost dogs, shelters, animal control officers and people who find lost dogs to help reunite them with their owners, according to the Facebook page.
Tucker’s owner, Shanya Pottle, 20, of South China, was seriously injured in the Aug. 9 crash that took place about a mile north of the Lakewood Golf Course. The dog was reportedly thrown from the vehicle during the crash and had been missing since.
Pottle was taken by ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and later transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
A hospital spokeswoman at Maine Medical Center said Monday that she did not have a record of anyone with Pottle’s name at the hospital.
Pottle could not be reached for an interview Monday.
A truck driver who Pottle passed immediately before the crash told police she was on her cellphone, and police said at the time the crash may have been because of distracted driving.
Ross said Monday that he did not have further information on the cause of the crash or Pottle’s condition. He said it is unlikely there will be criminal charges.
“Under the circumstances it would be really hard to prove (that there was distracted driving),” Ross said. “That’s what it appeared to the truck driver who passed her, but being able to convert that into something you can prosecute is hard.”
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