The Most Adorable Chase

November 18, 2011 7:00 PM

A rollover accident during rush hour on an Arizona freeway nearly ended in tragedy after two small dogs jumped from the wrecked vehicle and led police on a desperate chase through the busy traffic before finally being safely captured.
posted by griphus (61 comments total)

Oh YAY. Thank you for this happy cop/dog story.
posted by sweetkid at 7:05 PM on November 18, 2011

Benny Hillified for your amusement.
posted by griphus at 7:06 PM on November 18, 2011 [12 favorites]

That's not really a dog.
posted by xmutex at 7:10 PM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

That was among the most stressful videos I've watched today.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:11 PM on November 18, 2011 [7 favorites]

griphus, I was just about to do that. Yackity Sax was playing in my head the entire chase.

Looks like they cut the video off before the inevitable tasing of the dog.
posted by item at 7:14 PM on November 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

I couldn't tell if that was Ponch or John.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:17 PM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

Notice how the camera operator zoomed out when the dog ran onto the shoulder and looked like immanent road kill (the same move helicopter camerapeople do right before/after the police shoot the driver after a pursuit).
posted by thescientificmethhead at 7:21 PM on November 18, 2011

NWAified for your amusement.
posted by googly at 7:22 PM on November 18, 2011 [9 favorites]

Somehow knowing the dog ended up being fine didn't make it much easier to watch the video.
posted by ORthey at 7:30 PM on November 18, 2011 [6 favorites]

even knowing it turns out ok, i gasped a couple of times.
posted by nadawi at 7:50 PM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Now you will not swell the rout
Of puppies who wore their tiny legs out
Runners whom the law outran
And the dream died, on an exit ramp.
posted by argonauta at 7:52 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Much ado
posted by oddman at 7:54 PM on November 18, 2011

That's not really a dog.

It's a space station.
posted by XMLicious at 7:55 PM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

This is might prove an unpopular opinion but I just don't think it's smart to risk causing another accident, and your own life, for a Pomeranian. That could have ended really badly.
And it looks like the dog wouldn't have even gone onto the freeway in the first place if CHiPs wasn't chasing it.
posted by Flashman at 7:56 PM on November 18, 2011 [10 favorites]

This really isn't funny at all, either for the dogs who could have been killed, the owner who could have lost her best friends, or the cops or other drivers who were at risk during the chase, and the whole thing could have been easily avoided if the dogs had been properly restrained. The best, safest form of restraint is a crate. It will save your dog from hitting the windshield in an accident, or from becoming a projectile and harming you or a passenger, or from being thrown clear of the car and being run over or causing an accident. You should also know that emergency responders may shoot your dog if it is preventing them from reaching you. Crate your dogs!
posted by HotToddy at 7:58 PM on November 18, 2011 [10 favorites]

I'm just gonna go ahead and focus on the fact that the puppeh's are ok.

lalalalala no more bad news lalalalala

/can't take it anymore
posted by Space Kitty at 8:01 PM on November 18, 2011 [8 favorites]

I'm with you, Space Kitty. Although my kitties would say that's not very kittyish of you.
posted by sweetkid at 8:03 PM on November 18, 2011

Did that dog end up in the carpool lane? That's a ticket.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:05 PM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

> Somehow knowing the dog ended up being fine didn't make it much easier to watch the video.

Yakkity Sax made it much, much easier.
posted by contraption at 8:09 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Admiral Barky always had a problem with the fuzz.
posted by davelog at 8:09 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Whatever you do, do NOT read the op-ed whose title begins "BMA call for smoking...". It's not safe for input into any Turing machine.
posted by notsnot at 8:47 PM on November 18, 2011

Googly is my hero.
posted by timsteil at 8:56 PM on November 18, 2011

This is might prove an unpopular opinion but I just don't think it's smart to risk causing another accident, and your own life, for a Pomeranian. That could have ended really badly.
And it looks like the dog wouldn't have even gone onto the freeway in the first place if CHiPs wasn't chasing it.

Did you not watch the video? In the beginning, it shows a running dog then a woman chases after it. Then it just shows the dog running along the side of the interstate. Then comes along two police officers on motorcycles which to me, looked like they handled the situation properly. The dog running on the interstate unchecked and uncontrolled is a HUGE ACCIDENT waiting to happen. The police officers were flanking traffic to slow it down to prevent some huge car pile up starting with some driver deciding to swerve and slam on brakes. I'm sure the police weren't thinking "oh gosh, we need to save this dog's cute life." They were thinking "holy shit, this is a big distraction on the interstate and we need to prevent a huge disaster."
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:01 PM on November 18, 2011 [11 favorites]

NWAified for your amusement.

Even though that video features cops, I'd say "Straight Outta Compton" seems to work better.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:03 PM on November 18, 2011

Well, I guess this is my excuse to drag out my law-enforcement-chasing-an-escaped-dog story.

On Sept 11th, 2002, a group of us decided to take a motorcycle ride along the US/Canada border as a show a of solidarity with our American neighbours. This is the post that on I wrote on another site after that ride ...

We headed out, a bit apprehensively, given the day. On both sides, Officialdom was more noticeable than previously, likely a good thing. Turning around at Cultus Lake, we hooked up with the American riders who had read about this ride on a motorcycling site, and were looking for the somewhat confusing westbound route.

Halfway home, the two-lane-blacktop was blocked by a car stopped on the road in one of the spots where the two back-roads run parallel, within sight of each other, on both sides of the border. A plain, white, four-door sedan parked on the US side was obviously a US Border Patrol vehicle.

"Hmmmm I think ... this doesn't look good". Stopping nonetheless, we encounter a distraught elderly gentleman, the owner of the beater "K" car blocking the road.

"Everything OK here? Need some help?" I ask. ( internally " Dip-stick, stopped dead in the frikken middle of the traveled portion of the highway at an uncontrolled border on the anniversary of 9/11").

"Oh Yes! Thank Goodness! he says. "Thanks for stopping. I just picked up a little doggie at the animal shelter. I stopped here to let him out to pee, he was crying so much. He doesn’t even know me!"

Brilliant move, I think. Naturally, the dog immediately runs across the border to the US side, and won’t come back. What to do? So he crosses over himself as well, no doubt setting off an alarm on Bush’s jockstrap or some cack.

"So, where’s the Border Patrol agent? " I ask.

"Well…he’s off trying to catch my dog"

Looking up, its true. Slogging vainly through the field , about a quarter mile down the road, is the poor hyper-ventilated Border Patrol Agent in full uniform, complete with Kevlar flak-jacket and 20 pound weapons-belt. He’s chasing futilely after the mutt; completely out of gas, and about to pitch an infarction on the spot.

For the puppy, the game is pretending to surrender, and just when the Agent gets within reach, it dashes off , running him ragged. Lord knows that he’ll never catch the little bugger. Anywaze , this can’t go on, obviously. So we ride up to where the Agent is, and ask him if he wants us to help.

The problem though, is that while he can let us into the US, we can’t then legally return to Canada. The motorcycles can be ridden across easily enough , but then we’d have to return via the US, and re-enter Canada at a border crossing. As we’re discussing this idea, Canadian Customs show up, along with an RCMP patrol car.

Thus, with our legal re-entry onto Canadian soil assured , we surround the mischievous little beast, and swiftly capture him. Returned, all tuckered out and happily tail-wagging to his new master, its so filthy that you can’t actually tell what breed it is.

"So… just what kind of dog is that, anyways, Mister?" someone asks.

"Well…they told me that he’s a Border Collie Cross. Why do ask?" says the happy new dog owner.

We had no choice. We christened it Duty Free, and rode off into the sunset.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:03 PM on November 18, 2011 [41 favorites]

The entire time I was just waiting for someone to swerve and start a chain reaction -- even if only in the form of vehicular ballet. This isn't even remotely funny; a waste of resources and potential lives. Continuing to run just stresses both parties and causes drivers to panic and make poor judgement.
posted by june made him a gemini at 9:18 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

The police officer who catches the pup, I dunno. It may just be the distance from the action or he didn't want to get bitten, but he seemed to be especially gentle with the little guy as he reached down with his second hand. It choked me up.
posted by oflinkey at 9:33 PM on November 18, 2011 [4 favorites]

The police officer who catches the pup, I dunno. It may just be the distance from the action or he didn't want to get bitten, but he seemed to be especially gentle with the little guy as he reached down with his second hand. It choked me up.

Dude, me too. Totally made me go "d'awww." Especially after a week of looking at pictures of elderly ladies with tear-soaked faces from being pepper-sprayed, it made me feel a little bit better about the world.
posted by lunasol at 11:35 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, that's how you pull a dog over. Glad he's okay.
posted by SillyShepherd at 1:35 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I found some footage of the aftermath.
posted by dhartung at 2:46 AM on November 19, 2011

Stupid dog. Stupid humans...selectively breeding organisms that can't survive without our help.
posted by hal_c_on at 4:23 AM on November 19, 2011

This is why you should always carry some doggie biscuits. Even if you don't have a dog.

It is a bonus that in a pinch they will make your teeth strong and clean.
posted by srboisvert at 5:16 AM on November 19, 2011

[a couple of comments removed; let's not do OWS here, please?
posted by taz at 6:24 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Um, this seems incredibly dangerous and unnecessary. Why risk the lives of all the people on the highway for a dog? Some people really need to check their priorities. Frankly, I hope he gets reprimanded for being an idiot, instead of lauded for being such a "hero", simply because everything turned out ok.
posted by sunshinesky at 6:31 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I get the idea that the dog's life isn't worth risking the lives of many drivers, but to me the greater risk to them comes from the dog running around the highway uncontrolled. Yes the capture itself is not without risk but I think the dog is a greater threat than the chase to control him. Every second he's not captured is another chance for a startled driver to swerve to avoid him.
posted by scalefree at 7:04 AM on November 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

A driver who would swerve to avoid a small animal on a busy highway is an idiot.
posted by sunshinesky at 7:32 AM on November 19, 2011

Why risk the lives of all the people on the highway for a dog?

You're missing the point. Not catching the dog is risking the lives of people. I can picture the multiple car pileup caused by people swerving to miss the dog.

A driver who would swerve to avoid a small animal on a busy highway is an idiot.

No shit. But in the real world, a lot of drivers aren't paying attention behind the wheel and aren't thinking rational thoughts. So it would be easy to startle them with the reality of a small dog running along the interstate. It just takes one idiot on the interstate to swerve, cross multiple lanes of traffic at once causing a chain reaction of other people swerving to miss. Drivers on the other side of the cement divider would then rubber neck, thus a perfect storm for another huge accident. The dog needed to come off of the interstate. I don't know why this doesn't make sense to you.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 7:39 AM on November 19, 2011 [10 favorites]

I just don't understand why if this was for example, a drug raid this same type of dog would be shot out of hand as 'dangerous' or 'threatening'. Nobody seems to care about raccoons running onto the highway, why a dog the same size? I think the cops made a bad call safey-wise, but then they do that all the time...
posted by Dhertiiboi at 8:19 AM on November 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Stupid dog. Stupid humans...selectively breeding organisms that can't survive without our help.

Living in a rural area it's pretty easy to see that most animals don't need any special breeding help from humans to be easily killable on highways.
posted by XMLicious at 8:20 AM on November 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

I don't know why this doesn't make sense to you.

Because we don't go around chasing other wild animals on the interstate, as Dhertiiboi points out. I'll repeat that some people need to get their priorities straight if a small dog is more swerve-worthy than a racoon or a squirrel.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:31 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'll repeat that some people need to get their priorities straight if a small dog is more swerve-worthy than a racoon or a squirrel.

Now run along and tell 100 million drivers on the roads not to do anything silly, and all our vehicular safety problems will be solved.
posted by frobozz at 9:37 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm just tired of bleeding heart animal rights people who have no sense of priorities between humans and animals. For that matter, people who specifically elevate family pets to an equal level of importance as a child. If I could change the world in that regard, believe me, I would.

I learned this long before I learned how to drive. Do not swerve for small animals, and be cautious and conscientious of vehicles and humans on the road around you at all times.

How hard is that?
posted by sunshinesky at 9:46 AM on November 19, 2011

Sorry, I should clarify. One should be cautious of animals as well, but they come after the first two, and should only really matter if hitting them poses a real risk, ie: animals much bigger than this dog.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:50 AM on November 19, 2011

Sunshinesky, you're still not getting it. You may have your priorities straight but that doesn't mean everyone else does. I agree that people shouldn't swerve but that isn't going to prevent them from swerving. The police acted out the situation with the least serious consequences. What they did was risky but not getting the dog off the interstate had the potential for a worse outcome. It's called risk management.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:52 AM on November 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Also, why are you bringing up animal rights? This situation has nothing to do with animal rights and you're the first to bring it up.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:56 AM on November 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I get it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:56 AM on November 19, 2011

It has to do with animal "rights" in my mind, because swerving for a small animal, particularly a family pet, seems overly compassionate considering the danger it poses.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:57 AM on November 19, 2011

Because we don't go around chasing other wild animals on the interstate, as Dhertiiboi points out. I'll repeat that some people need to get their priorities straight if a small dog is more swerve-worthy than a racoon or a squirrel.

There's a reason why people don't try to pick up raccoons, or squirrels. It's not that dogs are more valuable, they're just easier to manage because they're tame and will let you pick them up. Well, usually they will.
posted by scalefree at 10:10 AM on November 19, 2011

Or people get startled out of their stupor behind the wheel and instinctively swerve without thinking. And probably without seeing what they're swerving to miss. I agree with you that people should pay attention and drive but they don't.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:10 AM on November 19, 2011

Animals roaming on freeways are always bad, and can't be allowed to do so. This applies to critters that are wild, semi-wild, domesticated, or pets.

Then, there is this approach.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 10:36 AM on November 19, 2011 [4 favorites]

"I'm just tired of bleeding heart animal rights people who have no sense of priorities between humans and animals. For that matter, people who specifically elevate family pets to an equal level of importance as a child."

What the FUCK are you on about? MaryDellamorte's been agreeing with you that one should probably not swerve to avoid an animal on the highway, but she points out that some people might because they're startled. That has nothing to do with animal rights or how people feel about pets. Maybe you should go grind your axe in a thread that actually has to do with those topics.
posted by HopperFan at 2:55 PM on November 19, 2011

I couldn't tell if that was Ponch or John.

It was Paunch.
posted by chavenet at 2:57 PM on November 19, 2011

What the FUCK are you on about?

Sheesh, I might ask the same of you with a reaction like that.
posted by sunshinesky at 3:01 PM on November 19, 2011

ABC's Air15 caught the scene on videotape...

I'm pretty sure they actually used a zoopraxiscope.
posted by neuron at 3:39 PM on November 19, 2011

also, when going at highway speeds, there isn't always time enough to fine-tune your reaction to what you see on the road ahead of you. Sometimes you have to start reacting before you conciously know what is in front of you - you see something ahead - dog? cat? what if it's a child? Once I encountered a piece of machinery on the highway - a solid block of metal that would definitely would have caused a tire to blow out, and likely gotten me in an accident. I was able to avoid it, and only really saw what it was in the rear view mirror.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:56 PM on November 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

not swerving on a highway is the reason my bumper is now tied on by twine.
posted by nadawi at 3:59 PM on November 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

Sheesh, I might ask the same of you with a reaction like that.

LOL whatever dude. You've been making a clearly terrible argument, in spite of having no one to argue with, because you don't like animal rights protesters. Please.
posted by kavasa at 9:40 PM on November 19, 2011 [5 favorites]

I didn't say anything about protesters, I was referring to people who would feel guilty about hitting an animal. I didn't take into consideration that some people may become startled or unsure of whether it was a child, because honestly I don't have enough driving experience to know for certain how I would react. I can say how I'd hope to react, and how I'd hope others would too. I assumed, unfairly maybe, that people would be more alarmed by it being a pet, or an animal and swerve so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about killing one. And these people I referred to as "bleeding heart animal rights people". Again, perhaps unfairly.

You and HopperFan don't have to be so rude about it.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:07 AM on November 20, 2011

Yeah, I’m going to swerve and try not to hit an animal, every time, pet or not. You’d better paying attention. I’m not really concerned with what you think about it.

Personally, I’m tired of people insisting their children are more important than dogs.
posted by bongo_x at 10:43 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Whereas, I have affixed a sharpened snow plow to my front bumper and floor the accelerator anytime a pet is on the road.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:08 AM on November 20, 2011

When you compare the dog to a raccoon or a squirrel, it's important to note that the video is in Arizona. That is a freeway that (I think) goes through the middle of Phoenix/Tempe. There aren't really raccoons or squirrels running across the road all willy-nilly like. Drivers would be startled by a dog, and they would swerve and cause a giant pile-up.
posted by Weeping_angel at 3:41 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]