We first knew her as “Good Sam” after a lowlife threw this female dog over the Alcoa Highway viaduct 30 feet below near Tyson Park last January 27. Today, her name is “Lindy” and she is one beautiful dog. And she’s healthy. And happy.
This is the mixed-breed dog that somehow survived the ordeal, landing with a thud near Knoxville Police Department Officer Kevin Aguilar’s cruiser. It was 3 a.m. on that chilly morning.
Officer Aguilar was the subject of our Jan. 27 Our Town Heroes and you can read the original story about Lindy at this LINK.
She has been adopted, and overall she’s doing well. She is still timid and protective of those she’s bonded with, but that will take some time,” says Janet Testerman, CEO of the Young-Williams Animal Center. “She is healthy now and adjusting to her new family. She has made a lot of progress and you can tell from the pictures that she’s really a beautiful and physically healthy girl.”
Officer Aguilar says that he first heard a man’s voice that evening as he sat in his cruiser to eat dinner. The man was screaming, obviously mad, and yelling the “F” bomb many times over. Then it got quiet. Then the thud.
“I had no idea what it was because it was so dark, so I listened for a few seconds and turned on my spotlight. I scanned out in front of me from right to left and then I saw these two eyes looking my way,” he says. “Then I heard the whining and yelps and I knew it was a dog. It was about 20 or 30 yards in front of me.”
She was bleeding from her mouth and all four paws were bleeding. “She was sweet and didn’t bark or ever growl at me or try to bite me. She let me handle her. But no way did I think she would survive being thrown 30 feet off that bridge,” Aguilar says.
Lindy the lucky pooch
Aguilar and a fellow officer wrapped the dog in towels and took it to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
Lindy, estimated to be between 1 to 2 years old, recovered at UT and then was moved to Young-Williams. She then spent nearly two months with a medical foster family to continue her recovery until she was well enough to be adopted.
“It doesn’t matter how much it costs. We are absolutely going to give this puppy a second chance, get her whole and get her healthy,” Testerman added.
Mission accomplished!
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series – Our Town Heroes – highlighting Knoxville’s emergency-service professionals. Watch for this feature every Monday on KnoxTNToday, and if you have suggestions about a first responder/emergency-services professional to feature, email Tom King or call him at 865-659-3562