A mum of twin babies is desperate for help after a hit-and-run driver mounted the footpath during a family walk and killed their rescue dog.
Terri McCullagh was with her husband and sister on January 2, when they managed to pull one-year-old daughter and son, Isla and Noah, to safety as a car twice swerved off the road.
But the silver SUV, believed to have been driven by a man in his 60s alongside a female passenger, ran over Beagle Annie while she was on the footpath.
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Terri, 35, said: “He just drove on. He ran over Annie, he killed her and he drove on. He must’ve seen that we were out as a family, three adults, two tiny children in Tike cars and two dogs on leads. He swerved and mounted the footpath twice and the second time he hit one of us - and he just drove on.
“The vet said that Annie was killed outright because her injuries were so catastrophic, but we’re struggling to find any comfort in the fact she didn’t suffer for long.
"Not only have we lost a precious family member in Annie, we know it could have been Isla or Noah who got mown down, it could have been my sister or my husband, or they could have been arranging my funeral today. What sort of person just runs over another living being and drives on without even stopping to see what damage they’ve done?
“There were two people in that car, the man driving who I’d recognise, and an older woman in the passenger seat. We didn’t get the number plate but it was a silver coloured SUV, possibly the new Nissan Qashqui model or similar. Neither of them could have missed the fact they ran over an 18KG dog and there may be some damage to the car.
“We’ve been left absolutely devastated as a family, heartbroken to have lost Annie in the most awful way and all of us witness what happened including Noah and Isla. We just hope the children are young enough that they won’t remember it when they’re older.
"They were traumatised by the whole thing, we all were. There was screaming and crying and they saw their daddy pick up their dog and run with her. They're just babies trying to make sense of the world and they knew something was very wrong.”
The PSNI is investigating the incident and have asked for witnesses to come forward, plus anyone who has dashcam footage of the junction of Goldenview Park and Upper Road, Greenisland, Co Antrim, between 4pam and 4.15pm from Monday, January 2.
Terri said: “The driver needs to be identified so the police can deal with him. We don’t know why he was driving like that, but we know it was dangerous and that his actions that day ended a precious life.
"I’m hoping his conscience, or that of his passenger will make them come forward. Maybe he has children or grandchildren, maybe they will come forward. We hope so. If this man needs help, if he needs to be off the road for any reason, then the situation needs to be dealt with as soon as possible before another family is hurt.
“We’ve had lots of businesses and people offering to help look for footage of the road junction that day and we just need one with the number plate to help us. So if you were in the area around 4pm please see if you can remember anything or if you have front or rear dashcam footage, please save it and give it to the police.”
Terri, who works in banking, said the family popped out for a walk with the dogs and kids in their Tike cars which they got for Christmas, and had almost reached home when disaster struck.
She explained: “My sister came over to see the children and we all decided to get some fresh air so we left the house for a short walk.
“My husband had the dogs, Annie and Bella, on their leads, I had Noah in his little car and my sister had Isla. We walked in single file and when we got to the junction to cross for our final route home we stopped to wait for a safe time to cross.
“The driver in the silver SUV was the last of four cars in a row so we were waiting for him to pass in order for us to cross the road. All of a sudden, from behind the three cars we could see his car swerving on the road.
"My husband and I both screamed to pull the kids back and he was pulling the dogs back just as it happened. The driver mounted the kerb and immediately came back off. Then he swerved onto the opposite side of the road - thankfully there were no cars in his way. I turned around to my husband in shock and relief that we were OK.
“But I didn’t realise the guy was still driving up the road, swerving again and this time came up over the kerb and onto the footpath and drove over Annie with the front left hand side of his car.
“Wee Annie’s body bounced under his wheel and she kind of stumbled back but then she just collapsed in front of us, she was dead, her wee tongue hanging out. There was no blood, no pulse, no hope of her coming back from this. The scene keeps playing over and over in my head, my husband picking her up and running to get our car to try to get her to a vet to save Annie. But there was nothing that could be done to save her.
“We rescued Annie on November 9, 2019 at the age of five. She came from Almost Home Animal Rescue NI, and had been used in a puppy farm for repeated breeding, fed once a week and never socialised. By the time we got her we thought she’d had at least six litters including one shortly before she was rescued.
“She knew nothing of human contact, nothing about living in a home, of stairs, furniture, mirrors, nothing about being part of a family but she soon settled into family life and learned what it was like to be loved and cared for.
“She was called Sweet Pea by the team at Almost Home and we changed her name to Annie because she was our wee Orphan Annie. After five years of being a breeding machine we were able to give her three years, one month and 24 days of love before she was taken from us.
“Annie was the perfect family dog, placid and loving, able to accept love despite what puppy farmers had done to her, she was a gentle companion for Isla and Noah and sister for Bella Beagle. We have been left devastated by her death so we will do everything we can to try to see why she died in the way she did and try to prevent it happening again.
“So please if you can help us, if you know what happened or who was involved, please contact the police on the 101 number.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “Police received a report that at just after 4.15pm on Monday, 2nd January, a dog was hit by a silver car on Upper Road, Greenisland at the junction with Goldenview Park.
"The driver failed to stop and the dog sadly died as a result. Anyone who was in the area at the time and witnessed the incident, or who may have any relevant dashcam footage, should contact police on 101 quoting reference 1507 of 02/01/23.”
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