Dog Injured In Aftermath Of Highland Park Shooting Reunited With Owner

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — As Katie Gillman ran through downtown Highland Park with her husband and young daughters, she looked back and saw a tiny dog leading the crowd desperately fleeing the rooftop gunman who had rained bullets over the annual Fourth of July parade.

The 6.5-pound Yorkshire terrier was wearing a pink harness and dragging a leash. Gillman scooped up the terrified animal as she and her family left the scene of the shooting that killed seven and injured dozens more.

The dog was bleeding from her right eye, so Gillman’s husband brought the animal to BluePearl Pet Hospital in Northfield, where she was diagnosed with significant trauma to the right cornea and eyelid, likely an injury suffered amid the frantic crowd, according to a news release from the hospital.

The dog was eventually determined to be named Lola, to be owned by Reina Conner and to have participated in the kiddie parade the morning of the shooting, where she rode in a wagon with Conner’s 4-year-old grand-niece.

“When the shooting started, family members grabbed the little girl, but became separated from Lola in the chaos,” the news release said. “Thanks to the Gillman’s heroic efforts that day, Lola and the Conners were eventually reunited.”