Good Samaritans Stop Traffic on Highway To Help Save Dog That Ran Away After Car Accident
It’s heartbreaking to see a terrified dog on the loose, especially around traffic. It’s dangerous for both the dog on the run and the humans trying to help, but thankfully there are people out there willing to work together to help out in these kinds of situations.
Toby Tinelli got a taste of just how many good Samaritans live in his area on Sunday afternoon. According to Tinelli, a large dog had broken free from its owner after they got into a car accident.
The pup, which looks to be an Airedale terrier, was running, dragging its leash, on Beltway 8 in Houston, Texas. The owner chased after it but the dog was panicked and tore off.
Instead of passing by the frantic dog, drivers started to slow down and some jumped out of their cars to try to redirect the wayward animal.
“We were in the first wave of vehicles that saw the dog running and every car immediately put their flashers on and began slowing down to try and help,” Tinelli told Forbes.
“A few cars tried to navigate the dog to the shoulder and block it in so they could grab it, but the dog kept running. Eventually, a group of about seven vehicles made a circle surrounding the pup and slowed down to help the dog stop and be caught.”
“That worked and the dog ran back towards traffic and several people got out of their cars to slowly corral her and let us get ahold of her leash.”
Tinelli recorded the chase and the eventual capture, and you can see how scared the dog is. Though chasing a frightened dog can often be counterproductive, especially when there’s a chance you can scare it into oncoming traffic, enough people were aware of the situation and working together to corner the dog and escort it to the side of the freeway.
“It was amazing how calm and patient everyone was to allow traffic to come to halt in the middle of one of the busiest highways in Houston,” he added. “Everyone just wanted to get that dog to safety and off the road.”
Eventually, the dog’s owner caught up to them and, according to Tinelli, was grateful to have his dog back.
“He had been running on the shoulder chasing after her,” he explained. “He looked exhausted but very relieved that he had his baby back.”
Video of the dog on the side of the freeway shows the poor Airedale’s paws bleeding from being torn up. While one witness suggested that the broken glass might’ve caused the wounds, it’s also possible that the dog tore up its pads just by running on the rough road surface for an extended period of time.
“The owner was taking him straight to the vet,” one commenter wrote. “We couldn’t see any cuts, but he was running for a mile on the beltway. We think he might’ve run through glass.”
Here’s the owner with his baby again. Poor guy was sprinting on the feeder (after a car wreck) to catch this pup. The best part was seeing them hug when he finally got him back. You can see the dogs bloody feet here too. pic.twitter.com/QH16IWQAkI
— TOBY (@TobyTinelli) November 11, 2019
In the end, the dog was back where it belonged, and drivers seemed happy to work together to save the animal’s life.
“I am so proud of my community and city for coming together like this,” Tinelli told Forbes. “There are so many good people out there and sometimes things like this are a great reminder of that.”
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