CHP rescues dog on freeway
DJ Becker/The Madera Tribune
CHP officer Javier Ruvalcaba holds a small brown dog he pulled from the center divide of SR 99 Wednesday morning. The dog survived crossing two lanes of high speed traffic in central Madera before being seen by Ruvalcaba and rescued.
A small brown Yorkie mix dog somehow survived crossing two lanes of high speed northbound traffic on State Route 99 Wednesday morning south of Cleveland Avenue and fortunately was spotted in time by a passing California Highway Patrol officer, as she lay crouching in fear in the center divide.
Long time Madera resident and CHP officer Javier Ruvalcaba said pets running in traffic were a serious traffic hazard and he had already been to one traffic collision that same morning caused by a dog running loose on a rural road. Owners of animals running loose and causing traffic collisions are responsible for those financial damages, he said, whether it’s a dog, cow, or horse.
Ruvalcaba said he wasn’t sure the terrified little dog wasn’t already injured or would even allow him to approach but he felt he needed to try, to prevent it from running back into traffic if he could. To his surprise, he said the dog was uninjured, friendly and allowed him to pick her up and put her in his car.
The dog, now named “Honey,” was impounded at the Madera County Animal Shelter and placed in a foster home. Shelter staff said the unaltered female dog was likely in reproductive heat and running loose in central Madera, and she recently had and weaned a litter of puppies. Anyone wishing to reclaim or apply to adopt Honey should visit the Madera County Animal Shelter.
