Dog Survives 80′ Drop After Being Thrown from Bridge – VIDEO

UPDATE 9/16/09 – Man Who Threw Dog Off Bridge Caught and Charged!! And an Update On Sunny

UPDATE 8/2/09 – Kelsey Westbrook Threatened With Loss of Apt After Company That Owns Complex, Arete Real Estate, Says Sunny is a “Vicious” Breed!

Sunny the pitbull is one lucky dog today but Sunday afternoon she wasn’t quite so lucky. Just after 4 pm, a white Chevy Malibu stopped on the Clark Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River and tossed her off the bridge, an 80′ drop into the water below.

Patrons and workers at Joe’s Crab Shack on the Kentucky side of the river about a half a mile away saw the whole thing and heard the dog hit the water.

“It sounded like something hitting a wall,” said restaurant server Bradley Cooper, 22. “It was very, very loud.”

Several of the workers raced to the water and shouted encouragement to the dog who was swimming in circles where she hit the water. At the sound of voices, the headed in that direction. Even luckier for the dog, a firefighter dive team was getting ready to practice on the riverfront and they took a boat out to help rescue the dog.

There was applause all around as the dog came off the skiff onto land and although hitting the water must have hurt and shaken her up, the dog seemed sweet and friendly.

Animal control was called but one of the servers, Kelsey Westbrook, who calls herself a huge animal lover, adopted the dog on the spot and named her Sunny.

“I was crying so hard, it was crazy,” Westbrook said. “I was ready to jump in the water and go after her.”

With a swollen belly and protruding nipples, it’s pretty obvious that Sunny had recently given birth and whoever had her must have gotten what they wanted and decided to just dump her afterwards.

At Westbrook’s home, Sunny scarfed down some food and quickly befriended her adopted German Shepherd, Nala. Unfortunately Kelsey doesn’t have a yard but wanted to help Sunny and make sure she never knows pain again, she will look for a good home for the beautiful red and white girl that was so unceremoniously tossed to what was supposed to be her doom.

Sunny was definitely one of the lucky ones, so many pitbulls aren’t. As a trendy “breed” in our throwaway society, banned and maligned, so many face death daily. Kudos to Kelsey for taking this sweet girl in and making sure she had the love there’s no doubt she has been missing in her life!

Update 8/2/09 – Kelsey Westbrook Threatened With Loss of Apt After Company That Owns Complex, Arete Real Estate, Says Sunny is a “Vicious” Breed!

Check out the latest!! OMG! Contact info for the company that owns the apartment, Arete Real Estate is below the story!

The University of Louisville senior who adopted a pit bull that was thrown from the Clark Memorial Bridge this week said she worries she’ll lose her apartment if she keeps the dog.

Kelsey Westbrook, the waitress at Joe’s Crab Shack who adopted the female pit bull, “Sunny,” said the company that owns her Old Louisville apartment will not let her to keep the dog there.

“They’re claiming that they don’t allow vicious breeds on the property, and I have a lease violation by having her on the property,” Westbrook said.

Westbrook also owns a 2-year-old German shepherd mix named Nala and pays a monthly fee to keep Nala in her apartment. Westbrook said apartment officials told her she can’t make the same arrangement for Sunny because the pit bull is considered a vicious breed.

The Web site for Arete Real Estate, which owns Westbrook’s apartment, states that renters must fill out an application to keep a pet at their home and “pet applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and depend on several factors” including the particular apartment and type of flooring.

“You must obtain our written permission prior to allowing any type of pet on the premises,” the site states.

Officials with Arete would not comment on Westbrook’s lease.

Westbrook said apartment officials gave her two days to remove Sunny from her apartment, telling her they will be conducting random inspections. For now, Westbrook is keeping Sunny at her boyfriend’s house while she explores her options. She said she’s looking into the possibility of prematurely ending her lease.

“She’s been through such a traumatic experience, she needs to be with someone she knows,” Westbrook said.

Looks like we’ve got a little work to do my friends! Please contact Arete Real Estate, email and phone and let them know what you think of their decision, especially giving Kelsey only 2 days to have Sunny removed from the apartment! Remember, be polite but be firm!

Ok, here’s email addy for Areta Real Estate – apartments@areterealestate.net and the phone # (502) 636-3900.

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