A woman has described the terrifying moment she and her friend crashed into a ditch on a village road while retrieving her beloved pet.
Ann Carden left Amical Veterinary Centre in March at around 5.40pm on Friday, November 6 with cat Bobo who had seven teeth removed, before she was called by a friend to help collect her cat from Hospital Road, Doddington.
After collecting her friend’s cat, Bobo was left loose in the back of the car as Ann let her friend use her only cat basket.
“When I found her cat, my friend was walking ahead and I said whatever we do, Bobo might wake up,” Ann said.
“My friend opened the door and Bobo jumped straight out and disappeared near Megaplants down Hospital Road.
“We were so worried because Bobo had just come out of an operation, she had no medication and had not eaten from the day before.”
Ann, who owns 12 cats, two dogs and chickens, launched an appeal on social media, put letters through residents’ doors and contacted this newspaper to help find her cat.
But once a resident got in touch on November 20 to say that Bobo was safe, Ann, from March, and her friend were on their way to collect her.
“The woman said the cat was in her barn and couldn’t bring it out to us. Me and my friend were driving along and she had to turn, and unfortunately drove into the ditch,” Ann said.
“I phoned a lady who came with her husband and put some towrope on the car.
“They started pulling her out and when she had her foot on the accelerator, she must have been doing 60mph.
“She shot into the air and spun about three times on the road. The last thing we heard was the car starting to move and me screaming as the other car came flying and flipped over.
“She could have killed someone.”
Ann suffered a swollen arm as well as minor injuries to her wrist and neck and was unable to thank the people who looked after Bobo for three days.
Bobo, who was found near the same place she vanished, was eventually retrieved following the ordeal, and has a few words of advice for fellow residents collecting their pets.
“I’ve had lots of missing cats, but no crashes,” Ann confirmed. “My friend’s not happy her car was written off, but there you go.
“I say do not go driving in the dark and always take your pet somewhere in daylight. None of this would have happened if it was in daylight.”
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