POLAND – Tasha Faloon had to tell her four children on Wednesday that their beloved Labrador retriever named Dalton had been struck by a vehicle and killed. They buried their pet on the family property, but the 26-year-old mother had no real answers to give to her children.

Police said the 5-year-old yellow Labrador was thrown from a van on Empire Road on Tuesday night and later struck by another vehicle and killed. The driver of the van remained unknown. It was also unclear why he had been driving around with the Faloon family dog.

“It’s been miserable,” Faloon said Wednesday night. “At first we tried to keep it from the kids because we didn’t know if it was our dog or not.”

Faloon and her husband have children ages 1 to 11 years-old.

She told police that Dalton had gotten off his leash at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Normally when that happened, he didn’t stray very far. This time he disappeared. The family drove around looking for him but did not know of his fate until a day later.

“Apparently Dalton was a very friendly dog,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tom Slivinski. “He was the kind of dog that would jump right into another person’s vehicle if they pulled up and called to him.”

Faloon came forward Wednesday after hearing about her dog’s demise in the news. She later contacted an animal control officer. She identified and claimed Dalton’s body.

“She had to break the news to her young kids,” Slivinski said. “They’re quite upset. This was a dog that was well taken care of and very much loved.”

Slivinski said witnesses reported seeing a man dump a dog out of a white van before taking off west on Empire Road. A short time later, about 6 p.m., a motorist driving on Hackett Mills Road near Empire Road, ran over the dog.

The animal found in the roadway matched the description of the one seen being tossed from a van, Slivinski said.

On Wednesday, he and other sheriff’s officials were searching for the driver of the white van. It was described as a silver or white work-type vehicle with a four-number license plate. Two of the numbers are 8 and 6, police said. Anyone with information about the van or its driver is asked to call Slivinski at 784-7361, ext. 264.

Meanwhile, Faloon said the holiday season had been dampened by the sudden and inexplicable death of the beloved family pet. “He was always excited, always happy,” she said. “He was a great dog.”