B.C. Mounties are on the lookout for a hit-and-run driver who struck a family dog but refused to take the dying animal to a veterinarian – for fear of wrecking his upholstery.

Kelowna resident Lloyd Manchester was walking his dog of 12 years, Jake, near a local Boys and Girls Club last month when a blue SUV started backing out of a driveway toward them.

He tried moving the dog to safety but it was too late; the vehicle crushed Jake’s hip and injured Manchester’s heel in the process.

The driver initially stayed at the scene, but refused to lift a finger to help the bleeding pet.

“I said, ‘Well, we need to get my dog to a vet,’ ” Manchester told CTV News. “He said, ‘My SUV’s really expensive and it’s got leather interiors, and I’m not putting that dog in my SUV.’ ”

Instead, the driver promised to bring a veterinarian back to the scene. He drove off and never came back.

“I just think it’s somewhat despicable to leave an injured dog by the side of the road and take off,” said Manchester, who managed to get Jake to a vet with help from a friend.

The veterinarian tried operating on the dog the next day, but his internal injuries were too severe. Jake was put down on March 1.

“We’re going to miss him… you just can’t replace somebody that you’ve had around that long and consider part of your family,” said Manchester.

“He was a very faithful dog.”

Manchester was put on crutches for his injured heel, but didn’t suffer any broken bones.

Mounties are now asking anyone with information to come forward and help them identify the hit-and-run driver.

Const. Kris Clark said Manchester and the man never exchanged information with each other, and authorities only have a few vague details to go on.

“Obviously the victim was very traumatized that his dog of 12 years had been struck at the side of the road, and was unable to get the information that we could use to track down the driver,” Clark said.

The suspect is described as a 50 to 55-year-old white male with short brown hair. He was driving a blue, newer-model SUV with wide tires.

Clark said under the law, pets are considered property, and so the driver will likely only face a fine under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Manchester said he hopes to see the driver do the right thing and turn himself in.

“Leaving a dog in that kind of shape, saying your vehicle’s more important than an animal,” he said. “Nobody should do that kind of stuff and get away with it.”

Anyone with information on the incident can contact the Kelowna RCMP detachment at 250-762-3300.