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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Dog Missing After Accident On Interstate

A Newman Lake man is searching for his daughter’s lost dog.

Kit Massengale’s daughter, Heather (Massengale) Grooms, was killed in a head-on collision on icy Interstate 90 near Pines in the Spokane Valley on Saturday night.

Heather Grooms’ husband, Galen, who was a passenger in the car, is in satisfactory condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

After the accident, the couple’s dog, a mixed-breed named Sabre, ran off.

“That dog is very special to Galen,” Massengale said. “They bought her together just before they got married.” The couple had owned the dog for about three years.

The accident that killed Heather Grooms, and Alice McGuinness, 51, of Coeur d’Alene, was one of about 87 in the Spokane area that Washington State Patrol troopers responded to Saturday.

“It’s irritating to see people playing bumper cars, especially when people are losing their lives,” said WSP Capt. Jim LaMunyon.

After the accident, Massengale called the county’s Humane Society and animal control center seeking help in finding the dog. Marianne Niemczyk, director of animal control, said she posted notices for her staff to keep an eye out for Sabre.

“It seemed like such a tragedy,” Niemczyk said.

The Grooms had purchased 1995 tags for Sabre, but had not put them on yet. Massengale is worried that if someone does find Sabre, the county won’t be able to identify her with the 1994 license information.

Sabre, a heeler/shepherd mix, is light gold with a white under belly, short-hair and a medium build. Her ears are erect and prick up when something catches her eye, Massengale said. She also has small white spots above her eyebrows.

“They’re like little white eyebrows,” Massengale said. “She’s a wiry little thing.”