Ian Liley, 52, was walking his seven-year-old dog Storm near where he lives in Braintree last Sunday.
Ian is partially sighted and carries a white cane when he leaves the house, whilst Storm, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Labrador cross, is his assistance dog mostly for his anxiety.
At about 3.30pm, Ian and Storm stopped at the zebra crossing on Rayne Road outside B&M and waited for “about ten seconds” as Ian could hear a car.
Support – Ian is partially sighted and has Storm as an assistance dog for his anxiety (Image: Ian Liley)He said: “I waited long enough for people to see it’s a zebra crossing and they have to stop for me.
“I started to cross, so then Storm moved with me and went ahead, and the car didn’t stop.
“It collided with the left side of her head and the left side of her body
“The bang and the yelp are going to stay with me for quite some time.”
Ian said Storm lay on the floor for “what felt like forever” before she got up and ran out of the road, while a lady and some shoppers from B&M came to help.
The driver, who it is thought was driving a grey Volkswagen Golf, continued driving and left the scene.
Scene – The incident happened at the zebra crossing on Rayne Road outside B&M (Image: Sonata Smorodinaite-Dambrauskiene) Ian took Storm straight to the vet and said since the incident, she has “not been herself.”
He said: “She is wary of people touching the left side of her, and her left pupil is dilated quite a bit which the vet said when we took her a second time to keep an eye on.
“She doesn’t like going out now—when we would get the collar and harness ready, she used to get so excited, but now she just lays there and doesn’t want to go out at all.
“She loved going out in the garden and having zoomies and runabouts, and she even struggles to go out in the garden now.
“The vet said this impact could take a few days or a few weeks to go, or it might not go at all.”
Lovely – Storm is recognised around Braintree and is often given treats in shops (Image: Ian Liley) Ian rescued Storm from a home in Harlow, where it is claimed she was used for breeding and had suffered attacks from the other dogs in the home.
Ian continued: “Everyone in town knows her as a beautiful, lovely dog, and people in the shops give her treats.
“It’s a massive change, and it’s not like her at all.
“I’d like to see her get better more than anything.”
Scared – Storm is recovering after the incident and is scared to go outside (Image: Ian Liley) A police car which was passing by stopped and took Ian’s details and details of the incident at about 3.30pm on Sunday, December 29.
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