Loyal labrador stays by fatally struck companion's side after car accident

Animal control officials are seeking the owner, or a new home, for a brave 2-year-old Labrador who refused to abandon her companion, another dog that had been struck by a car on Hacienda Boulevard in La Puente. "Grace," as she's being called by officials from the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control, was first spotted by a passer-by on Wednesday morning in the 1200 block of Hacienda Boulevard, just north of Fairgrove Avenue, DACC officials said in a written statement.



"(Grace was) laying in the street next to another dog, which was motionless and had suffered obvious head trauma," according the the statement. The loyal black Labrador refused to leave the side of her companion, though the other dog had died, DACC spokesman Aaron Reyes said. A good Samaritan placed traffic cones around the animals to keep Grace from being struck as well, officials said.


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Animal control officials responded to the scene and took the frightened but unharmed dog to a shelter. Grace had no tag and no microchip implant, and as of Saturday, no one had come forward to claim her, Reyes said. If she remains unclaimed, she may available for adoption as early as Monday, he added.



Though timid when she first arrived at the shelter, "The staff just showered her with admiration and love," Reyes said. "She seems to be a well-adjusted little girl." Animal Care and Control Director Marcia Mayeda said she was moved by the loyalty displayed in video footage that has surfaced of Grace keeping watch over her motionless companion. "When I saw the video clip taken from a passer-by's cell phone, it made me emotional," she said. Grace is being housed at the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, 4275 Elton Street.