WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - When kids at Roots Charter High School went back to school Monday, something was missing.
"When I heard he was hurt, I was so sad that I cried," said Katy Howe, a student at the school.
News that the school's therapy dog, Banjo, had been hit by a car over the weekend was tough to swallow. Banjo has been at the high school since it first opened in 2015.
"I knew I wanted a dog to be a part of the school from the beginning," said school director, Tyler Bastian. "They don't judge and they can be therapeutic for kids.”
Bastian takes the dog home at night and brings him to school every day. But over the weekend, his kids were playing outside when a car drove by.
"A car came speeding by and hit him," Bastian said. "He looked out and my daughter was just screaming, and then he drove off.”
Banjo’s leg was shattered and after visiting a vet, Bastian learned it could cost hundreds of dollars to get Banjo surgery. Fortunately, the kids have started raising money and created a gofundme to help.
"I put in ten dollars," one student said. "It isn't much but it's all I had."
