Texas: Fort Worth officer helps rescue dog running across I-30

TEXAS -- A motorcycle officer riding eastbound on Interstate 30 Tuesday morning thought he had come across a car wreck when he saw a plume of smoke and a woman getting out of her car.

However, it was the beginning of a dog chase.

Officer James Shiderly had been assigned to a police-escort motorcade for U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan in Dallas earlier in the morning as the Republican House speaker attended fundraisers for congressional Republicans seeking re-election.

Afterward, Shiderly drove back to Fort Worth, ate lunch and hopped on I-30.

Near the University Drive exit, he spotted a woman slam on her breaks and then get out of the driver’s side. He soon realized she was trying to rescue a dog on the highway.

Shiderly said it was about 12:45 p.m.

“I was talking to it on the intercom, saying ‘Come here, girl,’ ” Shiderly told the Star-Telegram Tuesday night.

He maintained pace with the dog who looked like a Blue heeler and terrier mix and got off his bike a few times.

“The first time, it tried to bite me,” Shiderly said. “The second time, it started urinating.”

Michael Ramirez, 33, was in his office at 1320 S. University Drive when he saw a traffic jam and a person running out into traffic.

“That caught my attention and then I realized it was a Good Samaritan trying to catch a dog running down the freeway,” Ramirez said.

He next saw Shiderly trying to help catch the dog, and started filming the chase on his phone at 12:58 p.m.

Three lanes of the freeway were shut down for a few minutes when, about 20 minutes later, the officer, some drivers and a Code Compliance vehicle blocked her off near the exits for Lancaster Avenue and Henderson Street.

The dog ran under the Code Compliance vehicle and lay down.

Shiderly grabbed water from his bike and poured it in his hand to give the dog, but she wouldn’t have it, he said.

“It was freaked out and stressed out,” he said.

The Code Compliance officer finally took the dog to the Chuck Silcox Animal Care & Control Center at 4900 Martin St. where staff will try to find the owner, he said.

Martinez said he didn’t get to see the ending, but believes Shiderly “did a good job of managing traffic while trying to get the dog to safety.”

“It has been a long day,” Shiderly chuckled at the end of the night.

(Star Telegram - May 4, 2016)