Local Boy Pleads with Drivers to Slow Down after Therapy Dog Hit and Killed

Caleb Kornosky and his therapy dog, Gracie, used to go everywhere together.
They were best friends.

“She would like, if I had a panic attack, she would be there and sit there, snuggle. And if I had a bad nightmare, she would wake me up,” said Caleb.

One day, Gracie got loose in their neighborhood in Arrowhead and was hit by a car right in front of Caleb, who already struggles with his anxiety.

“I came out. I found the dog laying in the street by the mailbox. The young boy was crying because he was tore up about it,” said neighbor Jimmy Talley.

“That’s the worst thing about it on our end. I figure if somebody would have hit it, they would have stopped,” said Talley.

For the Kornoskys, it was a tough road ahead.

“Being chronically ill raises a lot of issues within a child. And Grace was really trying to get that under control when she died. I mean it was just… It was really rough for a number of weeks. We went to a very dark place,” said Caleb’s mother Karen.

Caleb was able to get a new dog, Jake, since Gracie was hit.
But they are pleading for drivers in the Arrowhead neighborhood to slow down.

“Seminole Drive is referred to as ‘Seminole speedway,'” said Karen.

“We have too many children in our streets. Everywhere I look I see children running in the streets,” said Caleb.

The Kornosky’s hope something can be done before tragedy strikes again.

“Almost hitting my kid, killing his dog… Nobody seems to care. However, the next time, the kid may not jump out of the way,” said Karen.