UPDATE: Beloved dog of man crushed by car in Smyrna, sat by his side for up to 6-hours

Mar 05, 2014 at 02:46 pm by bryan


We have more news on the death of a man who was under his vehicle when a jack gave way causing the car to fall on him. The accident occurred on Sunday (3/2/14) morning in the parking lot of a Smyrna store. Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold confirmed that 58-year old Theodore “Ted” Siebert of Mt. Juliet was killed in the mishap.

What we did not report, was that Siebert's small dog named “Maggie” was found sitting by his side when authorities arrived. Siebert's sister Susan Hughes lives in Missouri, but was told that the small dog sat by her brothers' side for an estimated 6-hours before a passerby noticed that Siebert was actually under the vehicle. After Siebert's body was removed from the vehicle, the dog was turned over to the Rutherford County Pet Adoption and Welfare Services office (PAWS).

Hughes said that she wanted the dog to be placed in a good home because the dog went everywhere with her brother. She told us that she found a woman who has 12-acres willing to take care of Maggie. Hughes ran into a little problem though, Hughes couldn't gain custody of the dog in order to give it away.

Hughes told WGNS that she spoke to PAWS Supervisor Shea Davis about getting the dog released, but they would not allow her - to allow them, to give the dog away...

PAWS told WGNS that animals are looked at as property in Tennessee and before releasing little Maggie, they had to confirm who had the right to claim the dog or give the dog to someone else. Evidently, the problem revolved around the fact that Siebert's father signed a form allowing PAWS to fully take possession of the dog. Huges told us that he signed the form from PAWS without reading it because he was struck by grief after learning about the death of his son.

The Director of PAWS, Michael Gregory, told WGNS that it was a matter of trying to figure out who had the legal right to claim Maggie the dog...

Despite the misunderstanding, the dog is now on her way to a new home that includes 12-acres for her to run freely on. As for Ted Siebert, Hughes told WGNS that her brother will be remembered as a very quiet and gentle man.

Hear the complete story with Scott Walker below (2-min.):

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