Nashville truck driver rescues puppy on highway, reunites her with West Chester family
Jada the Golden shepherd was stranded and near death on I-75 when Bynum Morelock saved the day.
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A Tennessee truck driver is credited with stopping to save a puppy stranded on the interstate and then returning her to her family in Ohio.
Jada is a 10-month-old German shepherd who lives in West Chester. Her owner, Cory Hickman, describes her as energetic, well mannered and personable.
But on Monday, Jada’s curiosity got the better of her. She was outside in the family’s yard when a deer made its way inside the fence.
“The deer jumped the fence,” Cory explained, “and she jumped the fence too. And by the time we went around the corner to see where she went, she was already gone.”
Jada found her way to one of the most dangerous places a young pup can be. It was on Interstate 75 near the Tylersville exit that Bynum Morelock, a truck driver from Nashville, saw her.
“I probably saw about 50 cars almost hit her,” Morelock said.
He pulled his semi truck over on the spot. With the help of another Good Samaritan, Morelock corralled Jada, saving her from serious injury, death or theft.
“I think everything about it was emotional,” he said Wednesday, “from watching an innocent dog almost die... That was very nerve-wracking.”
Meanwhile, Jada’s family was up in arms. They looked for her tirelessly, posting on social media and even hand-delivering “lost dog” fliers. But Jada was nowhere to be found.
In fact, she was in Tennessee. Morelock couldn’t afford to stop on his route. The priority was saving the puppy—he’d done that. What came next, he would have to decide after he saw through his job.
And so, Jada went with Morelock across two state borders to Nashville. Once there, he took her to a veterinarian as soon as he could. Luckily, Jada had a microchip, and it identified her owners.
“It was kind of a—'Let’s hit the road now!’” Morelock recalled.
Tuesday night, more than 24 hours after Jada jumped the fence, Morelock reunited her with her family in West Chester.
“I knew she was going back to a good home,” he said. “That’s what put me at ease the most, was that she had somebody that was loving her. No matter what, they were going to come get her, whether they were three thousand miles away from her or five miles down the road.”
Hickman says reuniting with Jada has made for the best Thanksgiving they could ask for.
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