By Cathy Locke
The Sacramento Bee
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — A Placer County sheriff’s deputy and an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer were credited with saving the life of a dog that was struck by a car and pinned beneath the vehicle on Interstate 80 near Penryn.
The incident occurred at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday as Deputy Stan Semenuk, a sheriff’s K-9 handler, was driving on westbound I-80, east of Penryn and saw a bloodhound run across the eastbound lanes of traffic, according to Sheriff’s Office Facebook post. The dog jumped over the center divider and ran across the westbound lanes, prompting vehicles to screech to a halt as drivers tried to avoid hitting the dog.
Semenuk pulled over and began to slow down traffic while trying to coax the dog to come to him.
Semenuk, in a Sheriff’s Office video account of the incident, said the dog seemed frightened and confused. The bloodhound ran back into the westbound lanes where it was hit by a car. The dog was pinned beneath the vehicle with a paw under the rear tire.
https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff/videos/1538024176252074/
Another motorist, who told Semenuk he was an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer, stopped to help. Semenuk used his patrol car to block traffic and the two men used a floor jack from the CHP officer’s truck to lift the car and free the dog.
Semenuk used a leash to create a makeshift collar and was able to remove the dog from under the tire.
He carried bloodhound to the side of the freeway, where he kept it calm until Placer County Animal Services personnel arrived and transported the dog to Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic for emergency medical treatment.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Dena Erwin said the dog’s owner arrived at the scene as the dog, named Ruger, was being loaded to the Animal Services truck. Erwin said Ruger suffered only cuts and road rash, and was released to his owner Thursday afternoon. It was not clear how the dog ended up on the freeway, she said.
The name of the off-duty CHP officer who assisted in the rescue was not available. Once the dog was freed from beneath the vehicle, the man retrieved his jack and went on his way, Erwin said.
©2018 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)