Raleigh woman searches for lost dog after wreck

Emily Odom was driving home to Raleigh on Dec. 26 when she was rear-ended in a traffic jam on I-95 near Dunn. The impact sent her truck into the opposing lanes, and it rolled over several times.

Odom ended up upside-down, hanging from her seat belt and bleeding from her head. Her constant companion, a seven-year-old border collie mix named Stella, was next to her and seemed to be uninjured.

"I saw people coming, running over to help me, and I grabbed her and said, 'Just take her. Get her out of the car,'" Odom said Monday. "If I would have known she would have bolted like that, I would have not done that."

"I think she felt like she was in danger, and so she did the best thing she could do, which was take off."

Stella is black and white and about 30 pounds and has a red collar with no tags. The dog also answers to Odom's nickname for her – Rufus.

Volunteers are helping to spread flyers in Harnett and Johnston Counties. Odom said she's had a few calls about possible sightings, but none have panned out.

All she has left is Stella's favorite toy, a lot of photographs and hope.

"I have hope that she's just hunkered down somewhere. She's been an inside dog her whole life, so she probably has no earthly idea what to do or what's going on," she said. "She's my best friend, and I would really like to have her back."

Anyone with information about the dog is asked to email Odom at findstellanc@gmail.com.