Home Sought For Service Dog Left Orphaned After Owner's Traffic Death

NORTH AUSTIN, TX -- Among the survivors of a wheelchair-bound man killed last month after being struck by a vehicle is his faithful companion, Kariba -- his 12-year-old service dog now in need of a loving home after his master’s death.

“He was left behind, and he has no family that’s able to take care of him,” Sammy Darling, founder/executive director of Texas Service Dogs, told Fox 7 News.

Darling is caring for the German Shepherd mix for the time being.

The dog’s owner, 65-year-old Donald Norton, was killed Jan. 30 after being struck at the 12300 block of North Lamar Boulevard around 8 p.m.

Norton was negotiating the street on his motorized wheelchair when a car hit him. By all indications, it was a tragic accident exacerbated by the lack of illumination and lack of a crosswalk at the site.

The driver of the car stopped immediately, cooperating with police during their investigation. Norton was transported to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries, but died four days later.

The plight of the orphaned dog resonates with Darling -- not only professionally but personally as she invoked memories of her mother who also loved her own canine companions.

“My mother passed away this September, and it really touched my heart to think if she passed away, what would we do with her dogs.”

But her immediate goal now is to find Kariba a home.

“We would just like for him to be a pet for now, and enjoy his golden years for a family that will love him forever,” she told the news station.

>>> Image via Wikimedia Commons