Dog follows owner to hospital after crash

AP

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A man injured when a driver suspected of being drunk barreled into his northern Idaho house got some good news Saturday: His dog, missing since the Thursday crash, was found.

The Coeur d'Alene Press reported that Jeffrey Groat was reunited with his teacup Great Dane named Burke while recovering in the hospital.

Groat and two others were hurt Thursday when police say 27-year-old Thomas Scott Heinbaugh drove his truck through the side of Groat's home in Coeur d'Alene.

Sherri Bloom, a friend of Groat's, was hospitalized in fair condition, and Bloom's 10-year-old daughter was also hospitalized but doesn't appear to have been seriously injured.

Burke went missing after the crash left a gaping hole in Groat's home, just to the left of his front door.

The dog was found by a Coeur d'Alene resident who read about the accident in the Press and recognized the dog from a picture in the paper.

The small pooch had been found Thursday near the hospital's emergency room, leading Groat's friends to speculate it had followed emergency vehicles that carried him and the other victims to the hospital.

Groat's friend, Brandi Bieber, says the dog was so excited at their reunion Saturday that he had to be restrained from jumping on Groat's hospital bed.

Prior to the reunion, Groat asked repeatedly about Burke's whereabouts during his treatment.

"It was a big, big stress for him," Bieber said. "The family is relieved. He is relieved."

Groat, who had been playing cards with Bloom and her daughter in his living room at the time of the crash, was trapped under Heinbaugh's Ford F250 and had to be extricated by emergency personnel, police said.

He suffered a cut on his leg and cracked ribs but was released from the hospital on Sunday. Bloom remains hospitalized.

Shortly after being notified that Burke had been located, Bieber picked up the dog.

Friends and family began working on a surprise reunion.

"We kept it all very hush, hush," Bieber said. "A nurse told Jeff she was taking him outside to get some fresh air."

Meanwhile, Heinbaugh has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and fleeing an injury accident and is being held in Kootenai County Jail.