By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
There was more than one victim and more than one touching story in the accident which was fatal to Jacque Tollett on the day after Christmas.
She was returning home from visiting family in Texarkana when her vehicle was struck from behind as she turned off U.S. Hwy. 67 at Fulton. The collision sent her vehicle into the oncoming lane and it was struck again. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her funeral was Thursday.
The other victim was Lady, a protective, tiny brown dog which Jacque had rescued from an animal pound. They were constant companions.
For six days after the accident, Lady roamed the area around the scene. It was cold and about to get colder. Store video cameras showed her pawing at the front door, but she would flee as soon as anyone tried to get close.
Jacque’s sister, Terri Worthington of Nashville, was joined by other family members, Jacque’s friends and pet lovers for those six days trying to catch the terrified dog. When it was spotted, the would-be rescuers noticed that she was bloodied.
But she eluded Jacque’s friends’ efforts.
Finally, an angel in the form of Greg King of Greg King Animal Recovery and his friend, Jim Gray, managed to catch Lady.
“We had tried everything,” Terri recalled, “Traps, food, some of Jacque’s clothes … everything. If we had known of him [King] earlier, we might have gotten Lady back sooner.”
Lady was brought back to the veterinarian’s office in Nashville where Dr. Russ Smith pronounced her physically okay with the exception of that small wound.
Lady is now recovering in the company of her new mistress, Terri. “But she still looks for Jacque,” Terri says.
