MULBERRY, Ga. — A Mulberry city councilman’s quick thinking and kindness helped save a dog’s life and reunite the injured pet with its grateful owner Thursday afternoon.
Michael Rudnick was driving his city truck down Buford Drive around 10:30 a.m. when he spotted a small dog lying motionless on the roadway near Lyle Circle.
Several cars had already passed by the injured animal.
“I could tell it had been hit, and it did not look like he was doing good at all,” Rudnick said in a phone interview with Channel 2’s Matt Johnson. “I picked him up and put him in my truck.”
The three-year-old terrier mix named Dougie had been hit by a car after running from his owner’s nearby auto repair shop.
Ruby, who works across the street from where the accident happened, had already called Lawrenceville police and animal control when she saw Rudnick’s social media post about the rescue.
Rudnick first took Dougie to Premier Veterinary Hospital on Highway 120, where staff treated the dog’s road rash and possible concussion without charging for the visit.
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He then brought the injured pet to his office to recover.
“The whole day he was in my office, he cowered in the corner,” Rudnick said. “As soon as he heard her voice, he all of a sudden could jump and play and lick your face.”
Ruby, who originally rescued Dougie from a roadside box three years ago, was in tears during the afternoon reunion.
“She was so happy that he was okay,” Rudnick said.
The rescue shows how lucky Dougie was. He had no collar or microchip.
Rudnick said pet owners should consider getting their dogs microchipped and keeping collars with ID tags on them.
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