By MADDY VITALE
Remy, an 18-month-old hound, was adopted by Jessica and Jon Mele from a rescue in Lansdale, Pa.
Remy was brought up north from a kill shelter in Alabama for a second chance at life.
“We rescued her in February of 2021,” explained Jessica, a Lansdale resident who vacations with her family in Ocean City. “We just love her. She is a great dog.”
Remy has lived with her adopted family, which includes the Meles' 3-year-old daughter, Jules, and 6-month-old son, Weston. She goes on all of the family vacations. The 50-pound dog even gets dressed up for the holidays in costumes chosen by Jules.
The rescued dog, who has a loving family, was rescued for a third time in her short life.
On Saturday, while the Meles vacationed for the Memorial Day weekend at Jon's mother's home at 34th Street and Haven Avenue, Remy got out of the house and was struck by a van.
The driver didn't stop.
The community came together to help the family and Remy. It was something that gave the family solace, hope and healing.
“The call to action from the people and the police gives our family a glimmer of hope in this world right now that has so much darkness,” Jessica said. “I have never seen anything like it.”
Jon and Jessica Mele with their children, Jules, 3, and baby Weston, along with Remy.
Remy was dragged about 20 feet in the hit-and-run.
She suffered lacerations from her abdomen, down her legs to her paws. There are deeper cuts in her abdomen area. Remy also suffered burns down her stomach from being dragged, Jessica said.
She also had to have a bone removed in her paw. Remy is heavily medicated and is able to walk outside a bit now, but she is far from being healed.
“Remy is alive, thankfully, but she has a very long road to recovery,” Jessica said.
Remy has returned to the family.
Remy, who is a Plott hound bred for tracking hunting, was rescued not just by the family, who quickly came to her aid, or by the veterinarians at Ocean View Veterinary Hospital, who certainly acted quickly and used their expertise to suture and stitch and clean Remy’s wounds, but by the Ocean City police officers and the public, who came together, Jessica emphasized.
“The surrounding neighbors, vacationers, even just folks who happened to be at Wawa didn't miss a beat," she said of the area near her mother-in-law's home.
The community took photos. They got the license plate number and called 911 of the van involved in the crash. They gave witness statements and even offered to drive Jessica to the veterinary hospital.
The community truly came out to help the family, Jessica said.
Jules and Remy play dress up.
Jessica said that the family will never forget Ocean City Police Officers Benjamin Bethea and Karl Ruf for their kindness, compassion and quick-thinking. They were the first officers on the scene.
“Officer Bethea jumped into action right away,” Jessica said. “He quickly gathered information and alerted his team of the details.”
Jules saw the accident unfold and was traumatized, Jessica said.
“Officer Bethea helped me calm down and gather my thoughts on how to talk to her about what happened,” she said.
When there wasn’t room for Remy in the Meles' car because of the child seats, Officer Ruf transported Jon Mele and Remy to the veterinary hospital.
“Without hesitation, he took my husband and our dog into his car and got them right over to the hospital about 20 minutes away, as she was losing a lot of blood and was in very bad shape.”
They came together in anger because a driver hit a dog and left the scene of the accident, dragging the helpless animal in the process.
They came together to help nice people who love their family pet. And they came together to do what was right, to help an animal, to help other people and to just be good.
Remy enjoying beach time in Ocean City.
