A devastated Angus family have slammed a heartless hit-and-run driver who left a dog dying in its OAP owner’s arms.
The Jack Russell named Poppy was being walked on a lead along a narrow Brechin street on Saturday when she was struck by the passing car.
While 66-year-old owner Lesley Whittet tried to gather up the badly injured pet she watched in horror as the vehicle drove away.
The family say they have been left distraught by the incident and have passed on CCTV to police.
Lesley’s furious daughter, Rhona said: “They basically left a pensioner with a fatally injured dog in the road.”
She said her mum had been walking pets Poppy and Peppa along the narrow Smithbank Road, between the town’s Glencadam distillery and the Glebe Park home of Brechin City FC, shortly before 4pm when tragedy struck.
“The dogs were both on their leads,” said Rhona. “It’s a narrow road and has no pavement so it is always somewhere that I slow down if you meet someone walking with a pram or a dog.
“Mum was on the right hand side and the car came towards her. She doesn’t think it was speeding, it just didn’t slow down and as she tried to get Poppy into the side it hit her and just carried on.”
After receiving the frantic phone call from her mum, Lesley rushed to the scene and it was clear the five-year-old pet was in severe distress.
“We drove to the vet’s but they were going to have to come down from Stonehaven. I said I would drive up there, but Poppy didn’t make it and died in mum’s arms on the way.”
Rhona added: “She is absolutely inconsolable – the whole family is devastated.
“Everyone knew mum and her dogs because they are tan-coloured and quite distinctive.
“The first thing her grandchildren do when they go to see her is pet the dogs, so they are devastated too.”
Rhona obtained CCTV footage from the time of the incident and has passed the clip of a blue Ford Focus to police.
“It’s not a busy road and was the only car on it around that time, so mum is sure it was that one,” added Rhona.
“Police say no offence has been committed but it just can’t be right that someone can hit a dog being walked on a lead and not stop.
“If they had even looked in their mirror they would have seen her lying in the road and known that something had happened.”
She added: “Nothing is going to bring her back, but this person needs to know that what they have done has left the family absolutely distraught and if they have any heart at all they should at least come forward and apologise for their actions.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.05pm on Saturday September 5, police received a report of a dog being hit by a car in the Smithbank Road area of Brechin. The dog was sadly killed in the incident. Enquiries are ongoing.”
