BLOUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — As if being in a car crash April 7 was not bad enough, Sirena Cartmell spent a distraught weekend missing a beloved dog, Ness.

But thanks to a number of caring people, Ness was returned safety. Here’s how it happened.

Cartmell lives in Blountsville and was on her way to work at Gadsden Animal Clinic that Friday morning when she was involved in a collision in front of Jack’s in Attalla.

She had her four dogs with her, because she planned to board them for the weekend while she was to take a trip to Auburn for the A-Day spring football game.

When Cartmell opened her vehicle’s door, Ness jumped out and ran away.

“I started running after Ness, but I saw a man running after him, too,” she said. “He was faster than me, so I stopped.”

The man didn’t catch up to Ness, and Cartmell had no idea where the dog had gone.

“I was devastated,” she said. “I made flyers and went out and looked for Ness all day Friday and Saturday.”

She wasn’t alone in that search. Etowah County 911 Supervisor Deanna Jackson said she and her shift take calls involving animals seriously. When they learned about Ness, they sprang into action.

At the end of their shift (at 5 a.m. Saturday), they went out looking for the dog along the railroad tracks near the accident scene, but unfortunately weren’t able to locate the dog.

Meanwhile, Cartmell had posted pictures and information about Ness on Facebook and watched it quickly spread. It got more than 950 shares, she said, adding, “I’m still blown away by that.”

Sunday proved to be a day for blessings. Someone walked into the Attalla Police Department and told personnel there he thought he’d seen the missing dog near Attalla Fire Station 1 — quite a way from where the wreck occurred Friday.

Attalla police officer Dustin Harris headed that way, found Ness and brought the dog back to the police station. Cartmell was contacted and came to pick up the blanket-wrapped bundle and take him home.

Cartmell said she’s grateful for all the help from the dispatchers and the police department, and from the people who spread the word through social media. One of her posts thanks people for their prayers and their shares.

Jackson was especially glad to see the happy ending to this story. She and her co-workers are animal lovers, and often have paid for treatment for animals in need that they learn of through their jobs answering emergency calls.

“I can’t tell you how many dogs I’ve paid for,” she said.

It would have been easy for Harris to decide chasing down lost dogs wasn’t in his job description, Jackson said, but he chose to help instead, setting up a sweet reunion on Palm Sunday.

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Information from: The Gadsden Times, http://www.gadsdentimes.com