UPDATE 10/6 - Robert is still at the hospital. Turns out he fractured both bones in his left leg, and his hamstring on his right leg is completely severed and will require surgery. He has not been able to stand since the accident.

On an ordinary Saturday night, a family in Akron went to sleep feeling safe.

Elizabeth Kelly went to bed a little earlier than the rest of her family. The last thing she remembers hearing before she drifted off was her husband, Robert, and their 9-year-old daughter, Elyse, sharing a sweet moment together—talking about a gift Elyse wanted to choose for a friend.

Elyse was cuddled up with her dog, Snickerdoodle.

Elizabeth fell asleep with a warm heart.

A short time later, she was awakened by police officers pounding on her door.

In the space between those two moments, this family's life changed.

Robert had taken Snickerdoodle for her normal evening walk, part of the routine he and Elizabeth shared every single day. They walked her in the morning, again in the evening, and whenever else she needed to go out. They were responsible, attentive pet owners doing something completely ordinary.

Robert and Snickerdoodle were crossing near Merriman Road and Memorial Parkway in a marked crosswalk, with the walk signal, when a vehicle turning onto Memorial Parkway struck them.

The impact threw Robert onto the vehicle.

And then the driver left.

Robert was left injured in the road.

Snickerdoodle died at the scene.

Police are still searching for the person responsible.

Robert survived. His family is profoundly grateful that he did. But he suffered a broken fibula, a concussion and additional injuries, including ongoing problems with his hip. His mobility is extremely limited. He remains in significant pain.

And surviving meant that Robert was left with another burden no father or husband should ever have to carry:

He had to tell his wife and his 9-year-old daughter that their beloved Snickerdoodle was gone.

### Snickerdoodle wasn't "just a dog."

To understand the magnitude of this loss, you have to understand how long Elyse waited for her.

For years, when holidays and special occasions came around and Elyse was asked what she wanted, her answer was a dog.

She wanted one desperately.

But Robert and Elizabeth understood that bringing an animal into their home was a serious, lifelong responsibility. They did not impulsively put a puppy under the Christmas tree.

They waited.

They researched.

They learned.

They planned.

And when they finally found Snickerdoodle, they spent time with her and fostered her before making the adoption permanent. They wanted to be absolutely certain they could give her the life she deserved.

Then last Christmas, after years of wishing, Elyse's dream finally came true.

Snickerdoodle became hers.

And somehow, she became exactly what the entire Kelly family needed.

Robert later described her simply as **"perfect for us."**

She was.

Snickerdoodle very quickly became what we jokingly called a rather posh little dog. This was an animal who had landed exactly where she belonged, with people who threw themselves completely into loving her and making sure she had the happiest life imaginable.

What started as a little girl's years-long dream became something much bigger.

She was woven into their routines.

Their mornings.

Their evenings.

Their home.

Their family.

Robert and Elizabeth hadn't known just how much their family needed Snickerdoodle until she was already there.

And less than a year later, she was taken from them.

### This is a family that has spent years giving to Akron.

The Kelly family has deep roots in Akron. They have raised Elyse there. They attend church there. Elizabeth is a lifelong Akron resident and the owner of **Happy Dragon Flower Farm**, her small West Akron flower farm.

If you know Elizabeth personally, you know that Happy Dragon makes perfect sense for her.

She grows and sells flowers and homemade goods, but creating beautiful things has never simply been about making money for Elizabeth.

It is how she loves people.

She's the person who makes homemade treats and quietly gives them to someone who needs their day brightened.

She makes cookies for Elyse's teachers and classmates.

She gives her time.

She volunteers.

She helps friends, relatives, neighbors and people in her community.

She will drive hours just because someone she loves needs cheering up—even when that person has absolutely no way to return the time or energy she has given them.

She creates things because she genuinely enjoys making other people happy.

That spirit is reflected in Happy Dragon Flower Farm itself—a tiny West Akron flower farm built around flowers, beauty, connection and community.

Right now, the woman who normally figures out how to help everyone else is overwhelmed and doesn't know what to do.

Elizabeth has been crying constantly.

She is grieving Snickerdoodle.

She is trying to care for an injured husband.

She is trying to help a 9-year-old child understand why the dog she waited years for went for an ordinary walk with her dad and never came home.

And she is frightened.

### Something else was taken that night: their sense of safety.

This accident happened close to their home, at a crosswalk their family uses regularly.

It is directly beside a school.

Robert was crossing where he was supposed to cross.

He had the signal.

And someone hit him and his dog—and drove away.

Robert is angry.

Elizabeth is scared.

Elyse is grieving.

And while Robert's body heals, this family is also living with the knowledge that the outcome could have been very different.

Elyse could have lost her dog **and her father** that night.

That isn't an abstract possibility to Elizabeth anymore.

A few days after the accident, I listened to my cousin crying as she drove around the hospital parking lot for roughly 15 minutes looking for somewhere to park.

Valet parking wasn't available.

There were other places she could have parked.

But they would have required Elizabeth to cross a road with Elyse.

And she couldn't make herself do it.

That detail has stayed with me.

From the outside looking in, I see a family that isn't only mourning.

**I see a family that no longer feels safe.**

### They never asked anyone for money.

The response from Akron and the surrounding community has already been extraordinary.

Elizabeth has received so many messages, calls and expressions of love that she can barely manage them right now.

At one point, someone Elizabeth did not even know somehow found her Venmo and anonymously sent the family $100.

She was stunned.

They had not created a fundraiser.

They hadn't asked anyone for financial help.

They hadn't even given people an obvious way to donate.

Elizabeth was simply incredibly touched that a stranger saw what her family was going through and wanted to do something.

So, as their cousin, I am creating this fundraiser for them.

Because there **is** something we can do.

### Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 to take some of the immediate burden off this family.

Funds will help with the unexpected expenses created by this tragedy, including:

- Robert's medical bills, follow-up care and medications

- A supportive recliner so Robert can safely rest with his injured leg elevated while he heals

- Other recovery and mobility needs that arise

- Snickerdoodle's individual cremation and memorial expenses

- Grief counseling or other mental-health support for the family if needed

- A meaningful memorial keepsake for each of them—possibly jewelry incorporating a small portion of Snickerdoodle's ashes—so Robert, Elizabeth and Elyse can each keep a piece of their beloved girl close to them

- Other immediate expenses directly resulting from Robert's injuries and the loss of Snickerdoodle

Any amount beyond their immediate needs will give this family breathing room while Robert heals and they begin figuring out what life looks like after something none of them ever imagined happening.

### Akron has already shown this family that they are not alone.

I've watched Elizabeth give pieces of herself to people for years.

I've watched her create things simply because she knew they would make somebody smile.

I've watched her show up for people who could never possibly repay her.

Now I would love to see the community she has loved so deeply surround her family in return.

If you cannot donate, **please share this fundraiser.**

Share Robert's story.

Share Snickerdoodle's story.

Share it because somewhere in Akron there is still a driver who has not come forward.

But also share it because behind the news headline is a real family.

There is a quiet, fiercely loving father who survived being hit by a car and is now trying to heal while mourning the little dog who was beside him.

There is a mother who went to bed listening to her daughter cuddle her dog, feeling like all was right with the world, and woke up to police pounding on her door.

And there is a 9-year-old little girl who asked for a dog for years.

Her parents made her wait because they wanted to do it right.

They researched.

They prepared.

They fostered.

They chose carefully.

And finally, last Christmas, Elyse got the dog she had dreamed about for so long.

She didn't get enough time with her.

None of them did.

Snickerdoodle was only part of the Kelly family for less than a year.

But somehow, that was enough time for her to leave a hole immeasurably larger than anyone could have imagined.

Please help us give Robert, Elizabeth and Elyse one less thing to worry about while they heal.

Please help us give Snickerdoodle the memorial she deserves.

And most importantly, please help remind this family that although one person's decision that night made their neighborhood feel frightening and unsafe, **there are far more people in this community willing to stop, to care, and to show up for them.**

Thank you for helping us surround the Kelly family with the same love they have spent so many years giving to everyone else.