York Township family seeks information on driver whose pickup struck and killed family dogs

Posted: Mar 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM [Mar 10, 2010]

It only took a few seconds for Jeanette Ticknor to go inside to grab her shoes, but it was long enough to lose her two beloved dogs.

On Feb. 28, not long after 5 p.m. while the sun was still out, Joey and Deago, the Ticknor’s two dogs, were both hit and killed on Saline-Milan Road in York Township.

Ticknor and a witness both say the driver appeared to intentionally hit the dogs before driving away, and her family is appealing for any information that could identify the driver.

Ticknor said both dogs crossed the road she lives on with her husband Brian and two children, Taylor and Meena. Ticknor saw the dogs and called them back.

As the dogs crossed the road to come home, a silver late-model truck struck both dogs.

Joey was one of the two dogs struck and killed.

“They were coming back across when they were hit,” Ticknor said. “I went in to grab my shoes, to make sure they were coming back, and it happened that quick.”

From her vantage point, Ticknor believes the driver intentionally hit the dogs.

“He swerved to hit one near the shoulder and then swerved again to the middle to hit Deago. He never even stopped, he just kept going,” Ticknor said.

David Buckeridge said he also believes the driver intended to hit the dogs. Buckeridge was dropping off his daughter, Emily Buckeridge, who is dating Taylor Ticknor, and both witnessed the incident.

“As far as I’m concerned, he had ample time to slow down and get out of the way,” Buckeridge said.

Buckeridge, an anesthesiology nurse, said despite being accustomed to dealing with death, the event shook him up.

“I’ve seen it all, knife wounds gunshot wounds, motorcycle accidents, but emotionally, this has kind of got me rattled,” Buckeridge said.

Tanya Hilgendorf, the executive director of the Humane Society of Huron Valley, said one of the biggest dangers of animals getting loose is the possibility they'll be struck by cars.

“We see animals hit by cars all the time,” Hilgendorf said.

The two dogs - one an Olde English Bulldogge and the other one an American Bulldog, were allowed to roam free in the Ticknors' yard, and Jeanette Ticknor said they rarely left.

Deago was one of the two dogs struck and killed.

“We don’t chain them up - we never have. They always stay in the perimeter of the yard,” Ticknor said.

Ticknor said her family is shaken up by the accident, and her children, Taylor and Meena, are taking the loss very hard.

“We’re not sleeping at night. My son is finding reasons to not to come home,” Ticknor said.

Emily Buckeridge said she was saddened by the event.

“It was hard to see because I knew the dogs personally and just the way things went down and I had to be there to see it,” Buckeridge said. “I’ve worked in a hospital since I was 19 and to witness somebody so cold and calloused, it’s hard to come to terms with that."

Buckeridge, who was 75 to 100 yards from the other driver when it happened, said he tried to follow the driver but got stuck in a ditch. He said two people were in the truck, one had blonde hair, and they both looked younger.

For criminal charges to be filed, authorities must be able to prove the driver intentionally struck the dogs - or the driver's pickup must have more than $1,000 damage, which is required to be reported under Michigan law, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department.

Anyone with information about the driver or the vehicle can call Jeanette Ticknor at 734-657-5091.

John Garcia is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.