A tiny dog on the H-1 freeway, caught on the city’s live traffic camera, captured the attention of Thursday morning TV news viewers as police officers and motorists tried to catch him.
The little pooch, which danced around police officers and cars for about a half-hour, had escaped from his Liliha home along with another dog, which did not survive the rush-hour traffic.
"This is not unusual," said Teresa Bell, Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman. "Dogs go on the streets, and officers are trained to rescue dogs if they are on the street and if they do create any kind of hazard."
What was unusual was that the life-or-death drama was caught on the live traffic camera during the morning TV news.
"We really want to thank the public, especially those motorists that were delayed because of this situation, and it was important for the officers to do what they had to do to take care of this hazard," Bell said.
Six police officers — four on motorcycles and two patrol officers — responded to a 6:28 a.m. call of a dead dog on the westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway near the Palama Street offramp.
As the solo bike officers were heading out, police received another call of a woman trying to chase a live dog on the freeway, Bell said.
When officers arrived, they found the live dog on the barrier separating the westbound and eastbound lanes. The officers stopped traffic, and those on motorcycles tried to maneuver the dog off the roadway, Bell said.
TV viewers could see solo bike officers remaining on their motorcycles as they tried to shepherd the dog, while officers on foot tried to grab the dog only to have him run away.
Traffic came to a standstill, and motorists got out of their vehicles attempting to grab the loose pooch.
The dog was skittish and ran against the flow of traffic on the Diamond Head side of the roadway, Bell said. As the officers circled around, they spotted the other dog lying dead in the left lane, she said.
Finally, an officer with a leash managed to secure the dog, which was taken to the Hawaiian Humane Society.
The black-and-brown dog, which appeared to be part miniature pinscher with some Chihuahua, seemed to be in good health but was "just really frightened," said Humane Society spokeswoman Jacque LeBlanc.
Since the dog had no license or microchip, Humane Society workers did not immediately know who the owner was, said LeBlanc. So they posted the dog’s picture on the society’s Facebook page, hoping someone recognized him.
But the family heard the dog had been on the news, and the owner came rushing to the shelter Thursday afternoon.
"He was very, very distraught," she said.
The owner agreed to license the dog and have him microchipped.
The Humane Society also recommends owners place an additional tag on the collar with their telephone number on it.
"It’s the fastest way to get it back to the owner," LeBlanc said. "If a good Samaritan captures it, they can reunite the animal on their own."
LeBlanc also recommended owners make sure to keep their contact information with the Humane Society up to date.
Star-Advertiser reporter Gregg K. Kakesako contributed to this report.
