Emergency services at the scene of the crash on Sunday. PHOTO/PHILIPS SEARCH AND RESCUE TRUST
Woman flown to hospital after being stranded for three nights
MAZZ SCANNELL
A dog has been credited with saving the life of a 63-year-old Masterton woman who spent three nights out in the open before being rescued, after her car plummeted down a steep slope.
Kerry Jordan set out to travel to Palmerston North last Thursday, but her car went off the side of the road on the eastern side of the Pahiatua Track, and she found herself 45 metres down a steep slope, with a broken ankle and collarbone, and a crushed chest and sternum.
It is understood she dragged herself out of the driver’s side window and took shelter under a bush with only her faithful five-year-old dog Pat for company.
Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter service attended the scene on Sunday afternoon and flew the woman to hospital immediately upon arrival.
A spokesperson said the dog ran away when the helicopter arrived, but they knew he was around because Jordan kept asking for him.
Friend Fiona Northe said she waved Jordan off at 5.30am on Thursday.
Although Jordan had promised to text when she arrived, Northe wasn’t too worried when she hadn’t heard from her on Thursday but began to worry on Friday.
By Monday, she was very concerned.
Calls and texts to her mobile phone over the weekend went unanswered.
Police advised Northe on Monday that Jordan had been in a crash and was in intensive care at Palmerston North hospital.
“It’s amazing that she lived, and you hope that pneumonia doesn’t settle in … but she is pretty strong-willed.”
Speaking from Jordan’s bedside in hospital, Northe said the police had told her the dog appeared to have kept her warm during the ordeal.
Northe believes Pat sheltered Jordan from the time of the crash on Thursday morning until some time on Sunday when he got the attention of two passing hikers.
Originally, they thought the car had been abandoned, but they changed their minds when they saw a dog barking beside the wreck.
Soon after, she was airlifted to Palmerston North hospital where she is in intensive care.
Northe said Jordan was devoted to the dog and referred to it as “her son”.
The dog is in the police pound in Palmerston North and Northe will bring him home on Monday.
The MetService said there would have been rain in the Ballance Rd area on Thursday, with a low of 7 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.
Faithful canine saves owner’s life
MAZZ SCANNELL
Pat sat by Kerry Jordan for four days while she lay bent and broken under a small bush 45 metres below the road.
He kept her warm for three nights, and alerted passing trampers by barking at the wrecked car as they walked along the road at the top of the steep slope.
When the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter service flew in to airlift Jordan to Palmerston North hospital, Pat hid, but soon came back to the car to look for his owner.
As a puppy, he was found wandering the streets and was taken to the Masterton pound where Jordan picked him out. They have been inseparable ever since.
Pat loves car trips and barks excitedly when he gets into the car before settling down on the back seat while Jordan drives, with her driver’s window down.
Pat is five and stands one metre high. He is described as a large solidly-built black and white dog of mixed breed.
Family friend Reece Kirk, 13, who has played with Pat for years, said the dog was very playful and obedient.
He said he believed in the saying, “If you treat people how you wish to be treated, you will be okay, and Jordan treated Pat very well and now he has saved her life.”
