By EMS1 Staff
DURANT, Okla. — A dog belonging to an EMS agency was hit by a truck Monday night.
KXII reported that Gooch Toews, a loyal companion to the station, was dumped there eight years ago. When crews took him in, he turned into much more than a dog. He was family.
“He is the most popular person, or popular thing here,” Bryan County EMS Deputy Director Brian Norton said.
“He takes care of us, comes in and he will kind of give you a hug after a tough call,” paramedic Nate Toews said.
His namesake comes from Toews, who was there the night he was rescued.
“Once we made friends, he started hanging out with us, we started feeding him and he became part of the family,” Toews said.
Gooch was outside of the gate when he was hit.
“The car slowed down and then he gassed the truck and kind of swerved toward him and hit him and then drove off at a high rate of speed,” Norton said.
Gooch’s family rescued him once again and took him to the vet. He is expected to recover despite a depression on his spine and swelling.
“He still had tire marks and road rash and he was hit pretty good and to still be alive, shows how strong he is,” Norton said.
Gooch has been unable to walk since the incident, but his family of paramedics has been providing the same comfort he gave them after a tough call.
“I know it’s kind of silly about a dog, but he does, he takes care of us as a family, hopefully we are able to contribute back to him what he’s given to us,” Toews said.