INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis woman is asking the public to help find her dog that is missing after a car accident last Saturday.
Hannah Smith walked away from the accident with just minor scrapes and bruises but lost a piece of heart: her 4-year-old golden retriever, Gunner.
"All of this has been overwhelming with gratitude and sorrow because I wish that he were home with me or that at the very least I knew what happened to him," Smith told WRTV.
Smith was driving home from a friend's house in Fountain Square with Gunner in the backseat of her car on Saturday, March 4 when things took a turn for the worst.
Smith says as she approached the intersection near West St. and the I-70 ramp by Lucas Oil Stadium, she collided with another car.
"My car kind of spun out and it flipped, and Gunner was in the car and then he was just nowhere to be seen," Smith said.
Smith said as soon as her car came to a halt, she looked for Gunner in the backseat, under the car and in the trunk, but couldn't find him.
"We guess he was just so scared from the impact that as soon as a window was broken enough to jump out, he just fled the scene," Smith said. "And we haven't seen him since."
Smith has been dog mom to Gunner since he was just 5 weeks old. She says she bought him all the way in Kentucky after finding him on Facebook.
"I have raised him through and through," Smith said. "He's just a ball of lovingness as every Golden retriever is and he's a big scaredy cat, most importantly. I know if he's alive, he is petrified, he cries and screams if I take him in a car wash."
Gunner had just had surgery two weeks prior to remove a benign mass on his back. The day before the accident, he got his stitches removed.
Smith says there is a distinct shaved patch on his back and on his wrist from where the vet's inserted his IV.
She says another cause of concern of him being lost is that Gunner is not receiving the medicine he has been prescribed in order to prevent any swelling.
Smith pointed out more distinct characteristics that could help identify Gunner, like a black spot on his tongue, white under his eyes and his loving disposition.
"I don't know exactly how he's going to react because he's scared, but typically when he sees another person, he's just happy to meet you," Smith said.
Smith says she has already received tremendous support and suggestions from the community. She's posted on several Facebook groups, put flyers up in the area near the crash and downtown and has called local animal shelters.
She even called shelters at the furthest tips of the state, in the event Gunner was picked up by a truck driver near the interstate.
Smith then reached out to WRTV.
"I know that there's a million things going on in the world, so for you guys to come together for my little baby it means the world," Smith said.
If you have any information about Gunner, call 317-966-5117 or 317-835-6161.
Gunner was also last seen wearing a blue collar with a black leash.
