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This Dog Walked Home After His Owner Was Killed in a Hit-and-Run

The dog, Patch, somehow walked himself back to his home and waited at his neighbor's front door

Metro Animal Care and Control

A dog whose owner was killed in a hit-and-run collision walked himself home after the tragedy — and now he needs a new family.

On March 22, Patch, a mixed-breed dog, was with his owner, who was visually impaired, on a walk in Nashville, Tennessee, when the driver of a Ford F150 struck her, according to NBC affiliate WSMV. Soon after the accident, the owner was taken to the local hospital, Skyline Medical Center, and pronounced dead.

Uninjured, Patch left the scene of the tragedy on his own and walked himself home. He was found at the front door of a neighbor’s apartment.

Patch is currently in the care of Metro Animal Control, who has yet to hear from the victim’s family about taking on the dog.

“(If left unclaimed), we would assess him to help determine what would be his best outcome, whether that is adoption or placing with a rescue group or some other option,” a representative for Metro Animal Control, Matthew Peters, told WSMV. “We have had a few rescue groups reach out about him already. It does appear he might have had a life as a service dog, in which case a rescue that works with service animals could be a good match for him. That’s all kind of premature at this point, though, as right now, our main focus is still on locating his family.”

Metro Animal Control is asking the community or anyone with information regarding the case to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.

This past February in El Paso, Texas, a dog named Bailey retraced her way back to a shelter that had coordinated her adoption. Her story went viral after the shelter’s door camera captured her attempting to set off its doorbell.

The 3-year-old dog had been living in a new adoption home for a month when she became “spooked” while her new owner fitted her for a harness. For three days, she was missing, but locals reported spotting her around town, drawing closer and closer to the shelter where she once lived.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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