News24 | ‘I had to save my dog’: Man carries injured best friend 15km after hit-and-run

Sello Mabote walked 15km from Kutlwanong to the Virginia SPCA to get help for his dog, Option.

• Sello Mabote was cleaning his yard when he heard a woman screaming his name saying, ‘Sello! Sello! Your dog, your dog!’
• His dog, Option, had been injured when she was hit by a car outside Mabote’s home in Kutlwanong in the Free State.
• Mabote found Option as a puppy at a cemetery in 2023 when he was visiting his parents’ graveyard, and took her in as part of his family.

When his beloved dog, Option, was hit by a car, Sello Mabote didn’t hesitate; he picked her up and walked 15km from Kutlwanong to Virginia, carrying his injured best friend in his arms.

The exhausting journey took him four hours, driven by one thought: saving his dog’s life.

“It was hard, but I had no choice. I just gathered my strength and started walking. I had to save my dog.”

Option was hit by a car at around 09:00 on 22 October outside Mabote’s home in Kutlwanong in Odendaalsrus, Free State.

“I was cleaning my yard when my dog ran out,” Mabote recalled. “I heard a woman screaming, ‘Sello! Sello! Your dog, your dog!’”

When Mabote rushed to the scene, he found Option lying on the ground, injured.

“A man had bumped into my dog. I asked him why he bumped into my dog, but he started insulting me [and] then drove off,” he said.

“I called the police, and I did not get help there. It happened that a police car passed by, and I stopped it to tell them what had happened, but they told me that it was ‘not their job’. I felt so helpless. But I knew I had to get help for my dog.”

Mabote called several SPCA offices in the area, but was unable to get assistance. Finally, the SPCA in Virginia agreed to help. The problem was that Virginia was a long way from Kutlwanong.

“I knew that my dog needed help and that I had to save her, and there was nothing that I could do to save her. The only option I had was to walk to Virginia, and I did just that,” he said.

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Mabote said he carried Option and started walking the long distance to Virginia. Along the way, a kind stranger offered him a short lift, but for most of the journey, he walked on foot.

“I stopped under shade to rest, but I didn’t rest long because I had to keep going, I couldn’t let my dog suffer through the pain for longer than needed,” he said.

At the SPCA, Option was treated. The veterinary team later informed Sello that Option’s front leg had been broken.

“It was painful to see her like that. Even now, when I talk about Option, I still feel the pain.”

‘The puppy came to me’

Mabote’s bond with Option goes back to 2023, when he found her as a small puppy, barely a month old, at a cemetery while visiting his parents’ graves.

“The puppy came to me. I looked around, and there was no one or another dog, so I took her home. I gave her a home and named her Option.”

Mabote said he named her Option because he knew that the dog was going to be part of his family permanently, and not just one “option” among many.

His daughter quickly grew attached to the puppy.

“My child loved the dog, and the mother of my child loved her too,” Mabote said.

Mabote added:

The incident has left the household shaken, with Option still recovering in Virginia.

“Even though Option is still alive, it feels like we lost a family member. My daughter keeps asking, ‘Papa, okae Option?’ (Dad, where is Option?). It breaks my heart every time,” Mabote said.

Mabote visits Option whenever he can.

“When I see her, she’s happy to see me, and I’m happy too. She taught me something: when you raise an animal from when it’s small, you love it like it’s your own child.”

Still haunted by the accident, Mabote wants justice to be served.

“I want that driver to be arrested. What he did to my dog was painful. No one deserves that.”

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