Vancouver husky fighting for his life after hit-and-run (VIDEO)

A nightmare for dog owners became a reality for one family in Vancouver after their beloved husky dog was struck by a car that drove away right before their eyes.

Patrick Kaplin told Daily Hive that he and his family suffered a “truly traumatic event” in the evening of Thursday, March 17.

Their adventurous, three-year-old husky rescue from Thailand was trying to run to the park by himself at the corner of Porter Street and the Victoria Diversion.

Then, the dog was struck by a driver who didn’t stop despite the collision.

“Pluto is fighting for his life at the vet hospital and we’re now facing significant vet bills of which we can only partially afford,” said Kaplin.

Patrick Kaplin

Kaplin said he tried to report the incident to the Vancouver Police Department.

“We’re deeply saddened that the police will not even take a report of the incident as I’m sure the driver was speeding and had sufficient time to at least brake to lessen the impact,” said Kaplin.

“I explained the incident to the police, indicating that the driver didn’t stop or slow down at all, and they told me that it wouldn’t be a police matter since our dog was off leash,” said Kaplin.

“Apparently, it’s not a crime in BC to leave the scene of an accident after hitting a living creature.”

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Daily Hive has reached out to VPD for a response and will update this story.

Pluto’s owners have set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for his life-saving medical care.

“The most heart-breaking part of all of this is knowing that ultimately we settled for this apartment near a dangerous busy road because of a significant lack of pet-friendly housing available in Vancouver,” he said.

“We emailed over 50 listings while searching for our new home. Most refused to amend their pet policies, and many would simply screen us out of the application process since they had tenant leads without pets,” he said.

You can help Pluto’s owners by donating to and sharing the GoFundMe page.

“Right now we’re just trying to do everything to save Pluto’s life, he’s new to the city and we had so many dreams of finally letting him see snow after the heat of Thailand and training him to become a therapy dog.”

“We don’t want to lose such a kind soul so soon.”