Rutland Herald
Provided Photo
Missing no longer, Leo is reunited with his
family and friend, clockwise from Leo, Erin Barry Bellis, Annabelle
Lyons, Vicar Lee Crawford, and Christopher Barry Bellis.
And at 11:19 a.m. Tuesday, a wet and muddy Leo came running into the arms of Erin Barry Bellis, the daughter of the man killed in the crash.
“We rang the church bells to celebrate Leo’s return,” said the Rev. Lee Crawford, vicar of Church of Our Savior on Mission Road in Killington. “In the midst of this tragedy, this moment of joy.”
Bellis of Woodbridge, along with her brother, Christopher Barry Bellis and his wife, Annabelle Lyons, of Philadelphia, traveled to Vermont in search of Leo.
Tuesday, on advice of animal rescue experts, Erin placed Leo’s blanket and toys at the spot the car came to rest in the crash, Crawford said, adding that animals will often circle around the area after a tragedy.
wHe was found at the brown shed on Mission Farm Road, Crawford said.
“When I saw them (Erin and Leo) coming down the road, his tail was wag, wag, wagging,” he said. “He was very thristy and he drank from several water bottles.”
Friday night, Leo was riding in the car with his owners, who are from Woodbridge, Conn., and have a condominium at the Pinnacle in Killington. As they traveled west on Route 4, near the junction with Route 100, a large Scottish Highland bull that had escaped from a fenced pasture was in the road near Mosher’s Excavation.
Leo’s owner, Jon M. Bellis, 62, hit the bull with his Subaru Crosstrek before traveling down a grassy slope and hitting a tree, according to Vermont State Police.
Bellis died at the scene as a result of the crash, police said. His wife, Kathryn Barry Bellis, 60, sustained a minor wrist injury.
Leo fled the crash and in the following days, people from as far as Maine have been involved in the search.
A family friend, Jill Simmons, who lives in Maine, sent out emails and Facebook posts seeking help finding him. She sent an email to Debby DuBay of Rutland Town, and she organized an intensive search in Killington and the area.
The Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals Humane Society made posters that DuBay and others posted along routes 4 and 100.
Hikers, businesses and residents were all on the lookout for the missing dog.
“I’m so moved by the concern of everyone,” Crawford said. “This day means so much. The family expressed their gratitude ... I have been lighting candles for Leo’s safe return.”
DuBay said it was spectacular how many people in the community helped.
There were a few sightings and hours before he was found, DuBay got a call at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday that she went to check out.
“Everybody was so aware and so watching for this dog,” she said. “Everybody has been spectacular”
Crawford said shortly after he was found, Leo and Erin sat down on the lawn at the church, and he settled in to being found.
After a trip to the vet, Leo and his family will make their way back to Connecticut.
“One of the wonderful parts of this story is that the dog stayed by the accident scene,” Dubay said. “That’s how much he loved them.”
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