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Man rescues dog hit by car on I-480

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Amidst Tuesday morning's traffic on I-480 eastbound, a man on his way to work rescued a lost dog after it was hit by a car.

The rescuer, Kurtis Stevenson, spotted the greyhound in the middle of the highway right before the 176 split. Stevenson said he pulled over and tried to get the dog off the road. The rest of the traffic began to slow down during his attempt.

Just as he almost had the dog in his reach, a car trying to get around the traffic sped into the slow lane and hit the dog, Stevenson said.

Stevenson, and another man who stopped to help, got the dog into the car and took him to Cloverleaf Animal Hospital in Independence. Once there, the hospital was able to use the dog's tracking device to contact his owner, Ron Campbell, 63.

Campbell lives in Parma and had reported his dog, Stromboli, missing the night before. He said he took Stromboli out to the bathroom when the dog got spooked by lightning and ran off.

Campbell said he took Stromboli to Freedom Greyhound Rescue in Aurora, the place he adopted him from, for further treatment with a specialist.

Due to the high medical bills, Campbell had to give up custody of Stromboli and give him back to the shelter, allowing the shelter to take on the financial responsibilities for the dog rather than put him down.

Campbell said Stromboli is his best friend. He is heartbroken he had to give up custody, but felt he had to do what was right to save Stromboli's life.

Stevenson started a GoFundMe page to help Campbell get Stromboli back and to help cover part of the medical expenses. As of 8:20 p.m. Thursday, the $3000 goal had been met and slightly exceeded at $3,035 raised.