New York dog sucked into street cleaner
Pastor Dale Morgan
New York dog sucked into street cleaner*
Last Updated: 2:45AM BST 16/06/2008
A New York dog owner was left holding a broken leash after his Boston
terrier Ginger was swallowed by the automatic suction hose on a street
cleaning truck in the Bronx.
The animal was killed as it was pulled through the machine's rotating
bristles, after the truck sped past the pavement where Robert Machin was
standing.
Mr Machin had been walking Ginger and his other pet terrier Buster, and
was preparing to lift them into his car when the cleaning truck raced past.
Mr Machin, who used to work in the transit business, said he suddenly
felt a tug on Ginger's lead.
"It happened so fast," he said. "It spun me around, and as it spun me
around, I caught a last glimpse of her."
Stunned and enraged, he ran after the speeding vehicle with some friends
shouting to attract the driver's attention.
"I went berserk at that moment because I couldn't believe what had
occurred," he said.
After two and a half blocks he finally caught up and Ginger's body was
extracted from the sweeping mechanism.
The 57-year-old said he believed the truck had exceeded the speed limit
in the area and was investigating legal options.
The city Department of Sanitation called the incident "a rare and
unfortunate accident."
Mr Machin said that his children had grown up and his dogs had become
very important to him. "These two dogs, they're my life," he said.