Truck Driver Loses Dog After Crash Near Rawlins; Pleads For Help

A Tennessee truck driver is asking for the public's help in finding his dog, which became lost after one of the dozens of wrecks that occurred on Interstate 80 during a strong winter storm last week.

EF
Ellen Fike

December 13, 20213 min read

Yogi

A Tennessee truck driver is asking for the public’s help in finding his dog, which became lost after one of the dozens of wrecks that occurred on Interstate 80 during a strong winter storm last week.

Daniel Billiau has had his Boston Terrier Yogi almost since he was a puppy. But for the better part of a week, Yogi has been missing, likely somewhere in Carbon County.

On Thursday, Billiau, his wife Sheryl and their three dogs, Boo (a Boston Terrier), Yogi and Roxy (a pit bull), were traveling through the area in Billiau’s semi-truck.

In his 35 years of trucking, Billiau has been through Wyoming countless times. But last week, a normal haul turned into a nightmare when a flatbed truck cut Billiau off on Interstate 80, causing him to have a rollover accident near Rawlins.

“Sheryl was in the sleeper and the next thing I remember was waking up on the pavement,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “I got up and started calling my wife’s name.”

He found Boo lying inside of the truck with a broken elbow that is slated to be operated on in Rawlins on Tuesday. Roxy was attempting to get to Sheryl, who was injured, to care for her.

The two could find no sign of Yogi, however.

Someone reported seeing a dog matching his description heading east, but Billiau is hoping for details that will help him find his beloved dog.

He hopes anyone who might have seen Yogi will contact him at the Best Western in Rawlins. He asked that anyone who might have found Yogi to take him to a veterinarian, as he is microchipped and this will allow the family to find him.

“He had a pink sweater on that was a reddish-pink color that just covers his back,” Billiau said. “He’s very friendly. I don’t know about the shock he’s been through and I don’t know if he has any injuries.”

Billiau was not sure how much longer he would be in Rawlins, but noted that one of the hotel’s employees has agreed to take any information about Yogi, should he leave before the dog is found.

His wife, Sheryl, is currently in the hospital in Loveland, Colorado, and could potentially lose her sight in her left eye due to the crash.

Billiau did note that everyone in the Rawlins community has been incredibly supportive durign this difficult time.

“I just hope Yogi returns to me alive,” he said. “But if he isn’t, I’d like to know that too. These dogs are like our kids. Please keep my wife in your prayers, too, because we are going through an ordeal.”

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Ellen Fike

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