OXNARD : A Small Dog Causes Large Freeway Tie-Up

Even though he lacks the nine lives of his feline counterparts, a 20-pound runaway dog chose to defy the fates Wednesday--and the patience of motorists on the Ventura Freeway.

“There was absolutely no reason why he wasn’t killed over a hundred times on the freeway,” said Kathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department.

The pooch’s big adventure began about 1:45 p.m. when the black cocker spaniel mix started trotting against traffic in the freeway’s northbound lanes at Rose Avenue in Oxnard.

With the California Highway Patrol in pursuit, the dog veered from startled motorists and jogged all the way up to the Vineyard Avenue off-ramp before returning to the freeway, CHP Officer T.J. McAllister said. The dog then trotted another three-quarters of a mile to the Ventura Road off-ramp, where he exited for good, McAllister said. Traffic had snarled during the chase that at its peak, involved five sheriff’s cruisers, an Oxnard police car, two CHP units, a motorcycle officer and some civilian motorists, Jenks said.

Not until about 40 minutes later, after Animal Control Officer Mike Stewart grabbed the dog as it darted from under a truck on Vineyard Avenue, did things return to normal, Jenks said.

But alarmed by the commotion, the dog gave Stewart several nips on his hands. The dog will be quarantined for 10 days to ensure that he has nothing contagious, Jenks said. She said the dog did not wear an identification tag.