There are many “I hope this doesn’t happen to my pet” incidents that all pet owners fear.

Whether it’s your pet ran away, or worse, was hit by a car or whether your pet ate something that now is making it gravely sick, all pet owners hope to avoid these situations.

This story is about a dog that had one of these horrible accidents and how a community came together to help him.

Around rush hour one night, a six-month-old black lab puppy ran out into traffic and did not make it across the street.

He was hit by a car and the person drove on. A Good Samaritan stopped to help the puppy. Seeing his condition was tenuous, the person brought him to Far Hills Animal Clinic where the person knew an employee.

The puppy survived but was left with a severely broken pelvis that needed to be repaired. He did not have a microchip which could have easily led to his owners, nor did he have a collar with identification tags.

Contacting the area police, Humane Society, and Animal Resource Center and canvasing the neighborhood where he was hit were all unsuccessful in finding the owners. Since the owners could not be found, his care was then turned over to the employee. He was named him Frogger.

His pelvic fractures could only be repaired by a specialist and it would cost thousands of dollars. That is a lot to ask of anyone who has just adopted a pet. His initial care was mostly covered by a fund that Far Hills Animal Clinic has for patients with special needs. It is called Katie’s Fund and it was started after a generous donation by a client in memory of her little dog Katie. However, the rest of the money for surgery would have to be raised. The employee began to use social media to request donations and many people helped.

Even without securing the total amount for the surgery, Frogger’s new owners took him to the specialist and he had his surgery. He did extremely well and it has been hard to keep him quiet during his recovery. He will now be able to have a wonderful life thanks to the efforts of so many people.

Frogger’s story has many lessons that we can learn from. If a pet has a tendency to run, make sure there is a fenced yard or a working invisible fence.

Have as many identifications on the pet as possible (tags and microchip). Contact area agencies to report a missing pet as soon as possible.

Frogger’s situation is not uncommon.

Even if Frogger had not been hit by a car, he represents the thousands of pets that are outside, unattended and in danger. And if he was a stray, he represents the ever growing stray population.

He not only survived being hit but he also fell into the care of people who were willing to go the extra mile, find the means to get the help that he needed and give him a forever home.

Frogger was one of the lucky ones.