Worker rushes to rescue puppy spotted on Arizona highway traffic cam

PHOENIX, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- An Arizona Department of Transportation worker who spotted a puppy on a freeway traffic camera jumped into his car and drove several miles to rescue the canine.

Gil Estrada said he was at his desk at the Arizona Department of Transportation Traffic Control Center in Phoenix when he spotted the white puppy narrowly evading speeding cars on State Route 51.

"It was hard to watch. The dog kept getting so close to being hit," Estrada told KNXV-TV.

Estrada said he rushed to his car after he saw the dog make it to the median between the northbound and southbound lanes.

He found the dog near where he last saw it on camera.

"I was worried about when I approached it. I didn't know if it was gonna bite at me, take off and run, or get on the other side of the freeway where I couldn't help it at all. I approached gently and talked gently and luckily positive things happened," Estrada said.

The worker brought the puppy back to the control center, where a worker took her home for the night.

The puppy was taken to the Arizona Equine Rescue Organization in Scottsdale, which normally deals with larger animals but made an exception due to the dog's unusual story.

"If the owner cannot be found, AERO will facilitate finding the right home for this amazing survivor. We may normally do large animal rescue, but something about this puppy's situation motivated us to branch outside of the norm. Since we don't know her name, we'll call her Dottie, as a shout out to the ADOT employees who rescued her. No AERO funds will be used in the housing and care for Dottie of course since she is outside our mission, but we are so glad to be able to help," the organization said in a Facebook post.

Dottie will be available for adoption if no owner comes forward in the next few days.