Farmers find body of missing dog

The body of Peetie, a black and white beagle-terrier mix missing since last Friday after a rollover accident on Interstate 90 near Sprague Lake, was found by wheat farmers in the area, his owners said Thursday.

Sarah Cressey, 21, was driving to Seattle from Spokane last week after returning from a honeymoon trip to Hawaii with her husband, Trevor Cressey.

At around 2:30 p.m., one of her tires blew and the car rolled four times. Peetie was sitting in the front seat at the time of the accident.

Peetie was likely thrown from the vehicle and sprinted away. He’d been spotted by a mail carrier Saturday morning, but remained unaccounted for after that.

The Cresseys received a call Thursday from Gina Habbestad, a pet rescuer in the area who’d volunteered to help find Peetie. Farmers in the area harvesting wheat found the body of a dog yesterday, and Sarah Cressey identified Peetie from photos.

Peetie had extensive injuries to his back legs, likely from the accident, Cressey said. He looked as though he lay down and died.

The Cresseys thanked all those who helped look for Peetie.

Kip Hill

High temperatures expected to ease

If the temperature today reaches 90 degrees in Spokane, it will be the 10th day in a row of highs of 90 or hotter.

The last time Spokane saw a 10-day streak at 90 or more was in 1998. The all-time record is 14 days set in 1894, but that appears to be safe for now.

Forecasters are calling for a dry cold front to cross the region today, and a drop in temperatures to the middle 80s on Saturday through early next week.

A warning for high fire danger was issued for the lower Columbia Basin, southeast Washington, Yakima Valley, Wenatchee Valley and Lake Chelan.

As of Thursday, this month’s heat made the top-10 list for warmest Julys in Spokane, but that ranking could fall with the return of cooler temperatures through the rest of the month.

Mike Prager