Dog News

Police Rescue Dog from Highway Overpass on July 4th

by Katherine

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Statistics show that July 4th is the day when the most pets go missing, due to our four-legged animals getting spooked by fireworks. On this year’s Independence Day, one lucky canine got a special police rescue.

Harley, a six-month-old German shepherd from Wichita, Kansas, got trapped on a dead-end ledge on the highway overpass at Kellogg and Tyler Road.

It was 7 p.m. and Harley’s neighbors were having a party. Fireworks were shot and the canine was so scared by the loud sounds that he jumped his fence trying to escape the noise and ended up trapped on the overpass ledge.

Luckily, a Wichita police officer was issuing a traffic violation near the overpass and noticed the trapped dog 32 feet up on the overpass.

Photo Credit:  Wichita Police Department
Photo Credit: Wichita Police Department

 

“This dog had nowhere to go. People go 70, 80 on Kellogg all the time, and it was about a 32-foot drop down. The dog was stuck,” Sgt. Jim Merrick told The Wichita Eagle.

Immediately, an officer headed to the overpass to check on Harley and try to save him. The officer reached the pet and checked to see if he was friendly. Once he determined the pet was not aggressive and posed to harm to humans, three other officers approached and helped the first officer pull the 46-pound dog over the ledge.

Once Harley was safe on the other side of the ledge, he was still scared and bolted, but fortunately other officers in their patrol cars chased after him and apprehended him.

That same night the officers posted the rescue picture on the department’s Facebook page and it went viral. Thanks to the social media platform, Harley was reunited with his owners the following day.