A woman who braved getting out of her car during rush-hour traffic on Thursday rescued a pooch wandering a Southern California freeway.
Just after 6 p.m. a black dog could be seen zigging and zagging into lanes of the Long Beach (710) Freeway near Atlantic Avenue, causing motorists to slow down and try to corral the pooch.
At one point, a motorcyclist rode next to the dog, ushering it to the shoulder of the freeway.
The dog was in the far left lane of the freeway, dodging vehicles as it crossed to the shoulder.
Motorists turned on their emergency lights, working like a mobile fence, to keep the pooch corralled on the side of the freeway.
Andie Valerio pulled her car over and was able to rescue the dog, that had climbed an embankment.
"I turned my hazards on and I made sure she was kind of going towards the shoulder," Valerio said.
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The female dog was scooped up by Valerio. The dog was wearing a collar, but did not have any tags.
"She's super sweet," Valerio said. "I was sitting with her the whole time and she just licked me and she was just sitting there on the floor, calm."
After Valerio coaxed the dog into her arms and got her off the freeway, she was turned over to the local animal shelter, which will assist in locating the owner or someone to adopt the dog.
