ShareThisBREMERTON, Wash. - A beloved border collie who tracked down a missing child became a neighborhood hero. Now Kitsap, Wash., folks are returning the favor by rallying to cover a $3,000 medical bill to amputate Blazer's hind leg, after he was discovered tied up with plastic wire.
It's about time something good happened for the Roller family, after they lost their home, suffered a terrible auto accident and struggled to make ends meet.
After Blazer was found, 10-year-old Daniel Roller went door-to-door trying to sell video games and snowboard equipment and his BMX bike gear to raise money to save the dog's life.
When neighbors read about the Rollers' struggle, they donated $3,000 to pay for surgery. Blazer is recovering, after he lost a hind leg.
The 7-year-old border collie was found early this week near Sidney Glen Elementary with plastic wire zip ties around three of his four legs, just above his paws.
Blazer went missing from the family's Glenwood Road home Aug. 5.
"They said if he would have stayed outside one more night, he would have died," said David Roller, Daniel's father. "There was no way he could have made it home."
The family said it's clear the injuries were caused by humans.
"It could have just been some random kids playing with him," David Roller said. "He's never been a bad dog. He's really good with our kids."
Blazer went missing the same day David's wife Katie Roller was in a serious car accident, leaving the family to wonder if he was trying to find her when she didn't come home.
Katie Roller's car was totaled in the accident and she was taken to the hospital with a severed artery in her leg. Her leg was almost amputated, and it could still be if it doesn't heal properly, she said.
When she learned Blazer was missing, Katie Roller checked herself out of the hospital to try to find him.
The family is struggling financially, so Katie Roller's injury coupled with the injury to Blazer is hitting them hard.
Katie Roller has been unable to work because of health complications, and David Roller owns a professional painting company that has been affected by the recession.
The family lost its home. They have started selling belongings, including Katie Roller's wedding ring.
"We've never asked anybody for help, but we decided we needed to tell people someone mutilated our dog and we need help," she said.
If Blazer didn't get the surgery, the veterinarian would have had to put him down.
"I know a lot of people would say 'That's ridiculous, just put him down,'" Katie Roller said. "But tell that to a 10-year-old. Blazer's my 10-year-old's best friend in the world.
"It was really hard for me to tell my son that 'Somebody hurt your dog.'"
"The really special thing about Blazer is his favorite game is search and rescue," said Katie Roller. "I've trained him to find our kids."
That training came in handy recently when a neighbor's child got lost in the woods near their home. Katie Roller sent Blazer out and he found the child -- a lot like Lassie, the famous collie.
"He's just a really beloved animal in our whole neighborhood," she said.
The family reported the cruelty to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office and will file a report with animal control. The sheriff's office didn't have data readily available to know if it was an isolated event, or if other cases of animal cruelty had been reported in the area recently, said Scott Wilson, sheriff's office spokesman.
Jon Teer, head of Kitsap Animal Rescue and Enforcement, didn't know of any recently reported animal cruelty cases in the area.
David Roller found Blazer, after a neighbor reported seeing the dog. Blazer's fur was dirty and messy, his paws swollen and injured.
Now, the Kitsap Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever abused Blazer.
(Brynn Grimley is a reporter for The Kitsap Sun in Bremerton, Wash.)
