NEW DELHI: With a wagging tail, an Indian street dog that lost its front legs in a train accident headed Wednesday for a new life in the English countryside.
The three-year-old mutt was found “covered in blood” and badly injured after being run over by a train at Faridabad in the northern Indian state of Haryana last October.
A railways constable took the wounded bitch to a local shelter that looks after some of the thousands of stray dogs, cows and monkeys maimed on India’s treacherous railways and roads every year.
“It is almost impossible to save such a badly injured dog,” veterinarian Mahesh Verma said in a graphic video shared by the People for Animals Trust that named the pooch Rocky.
“There was a lot of bleeding... we arranged a healthy dog and transfused blood.”
Vets had to amputate the forelegs, leaving the dog with stumps. Her back legs were also badly injured.
But the dog – although not named after the famous “Rocky” Sylvester Stallone movie – nevertheless battled as hard as the underdog boxer to recover, using her chin for balance as she hobbled about.
The rescue organization’s video about her plight went viral, attracting the attention of the global dog rescue group Wild at Heart Foundation.
They found her a home in the rural Cotswolds region of south-west England, while an Indian living in London paid for new artificial legs.
In July Rocky took her first steps on her new limbs, made by a leading doctor in Jaipur, and over several months gradually learned to walk again.
Rocky boarded a plane in New Delhi early Wednesday bound for London, where she is due to be collected by the foundation and her new owner.
She appeared to be taking everything in her shaky stride.
“She has always been fond of traveling, so I don’t think she realized she was going away from us. She was happy, wagging her tail as we said goodbye,” Ravi Dubey from the People for Animals Trust told AFP.
“We miss her already. Everyone is looking at the stories published about her yesterday and watching her old videos and photos. We are at the shelter home right now and not seeing her in her usual spot is heartbreaking.”
An estimated 30 million stray dogs roam India’s streets.
“In India, pets are often abandoned and abused. We are very happy that Rocky will have a safe and open space,” said Dubey.
“She made it,” Dubey said, hailing the animal’s “incredible resilience, strength and spirit to live.”
“She’s a fighter.”
Badly injured street dog swaps India for English countryside
https://arab.news/rhrdu
Badly injured street dog swaps India for English countryside
- Street dog badly injured after being run over by a train in the northern Indian state of Haryana last October
Police video shows Vince McMahon’s 100 mph car crash in Connecticut
Newly released police video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon ram his luxury sportscar into the rear end of another vehicle on a Connecticut highway last summer as he was being followed by a state trooper.
McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT at more than 100 mph on the Merritt Parkway when he crashed in the town of Westport, according to state police.
A trooper’s dashcam video shows McMahon accelerating away, then braking too late to avoid crashing into the back of a BMW. The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley, which can cost over $300,000.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No one was seriously injured in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, according to the police video.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.
McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape — though in the video the detective suggests otherwise.
“I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too fast.”
The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.
After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the US education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
