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2 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2007 A 77-year-old Erin Town- ship man suffered serious injuries when he was run over by a vehicle on Wel- lington Rd. 124 in the township about 12 p.m. on Thursday, August 23. Wellington OPP said the incident occurred when a 2004 Volkswagen was re- versing on private property and the victim slipped and fell behind the vehicle. It ran over him. The victim, Joseph An- drew Leenders was taken to Georgetown Hospital and later transferred to Hamil- ton General Hospital with serious injuries. No charges have been laid. By Angela Tyler Maria Berry was getting frustrated. For almost an hour she had heard a dog barking frantically in her Acton-McDonald Boulevards neighbourhood but couldnt figure out where the noise was coming from. At first she thought it might be an echo, but soon realized that wasnt the case. Standing in her driveway, she kept listening carefully and traced the barking dog to a nearby sewer. Berry called the police, then she and her son, Jim, soon had the sewer grate lifted and a basket with ropes shimmied down to the dog. Berry describes the mutt as looking like the famous dog Benji. He was in the tunnel on one side of the sewer. Neighbour Marian Ratcliffe soon joined the Saturday af- ternoon rescue efforts. They were trying to coax the dog into the basket but it wouldnt go in. Ratcliffe said on Monday. While they waited for police, Ratcliffe took the rescue mis- sion a step further by retrieving a ladder from her home. The Berrys didnt think their ladder would fit. The Ratcliffes had an extension ladder that would slide easily down the hole. Lowering the ladder into the sewer, they had hoped the dog would climb up the ladder himself. However, the scared mutt didnt know what to do. Thats when Ratcliffe decided to go into the sewer herself. It didnt smell, she said, as she stared at the sewer grate later. The dog wanted to get out of there, but didnt know how. While Maria and Jim Berry kept watch over what was hap- pening on the ground along with the Town works crew and a police officer, lying on the ground on his stomach trying to assist Ratcliffe went down the ladder and pulled the dog by his collar towards her. Then she leaned against the side of the sewer while the dog used her body and clothing as leverage. Berry said the dog was shivering with sad little eyes. The mixed-breed dog, luckily uninjured, was later taken to Upper Credit Humane Society which tracked the dogs owner. Police believe the dog entered the sewer through a damaged barrier at the catch basin at the corner of Acton and McDonald Boulevards then travelled approximately 80 metres to where he was rescued. Town of Halton Hills Works Department has been contacted by the police to repair the barrier. 77-year-old Erin man is run over by car in reverse Shivering pooch rescued from McDonald sewer thenewtanner@on.aibn.com DOWN THE HATCH: Marian Ratcliffe points to the man hole cover which lead to the sewer tunnel in which a dog was trapped on Saturday. - Angela Tyler photo