A disabled veteran is asking for the public's help to find his missing dog.

Luke Macner said he and his dog, Nina, were riding in his 1996 Ford Crown Victoria Thursday night. Macner said he got into an accident near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Causeway Blvd. and the dog ran away.

"The dog was very important to me," he said.

Macner had just adopted the German Shepher/Rottweiler mix from the Hillsborough County Humane Society through the Pets for Patriots program.

He's a disabled veteran who's confined to a wheelchair and he said Nina was the perfect fit.

"She is extremely good with wheelchair people and that's what sold me on the dog," Macner said. "We bonded so quickly that when I was in my wheelchair the dog would walk right next to me, always on the left side of the wheelchair. If I wanted to push myself, I would put the leash in my mouth and the dog would pull me."

Macner said Nina is about one and a half years old and didn't need much training.

"She's housebroken, she knows to lie down, sit, she knows all of her commands," he said.

Macner isn't sure if the dog was hurt in the accident and he didn't seen which direction she ran off.

He is at Tampa General Hospital with a broken collarbone and other injuries but he said losing Nina hurts the most.

"She's obedient and I love her and I miss her, " he said.

The dog is microchipped but the chip has her previous owners information.

Anyone who finds the dog is being asked to call the Hillsborough County Humane Society at 813-876-7138.