Southern California

Startled Service Dog in Training Runs From Angel Stadium, Crosses the 5 Freeway Before Adorable Standoff With CHP

A CHP officer offered the German shepherd food in a nearby riverbed about 30 minutes after it escaped from the baseball stadium in Anaheim

A frightened service dog in training bolted from Angel Stadium during Thursday night's game and onto a busy Southern California freeway before a California Highway Patrol officer used food and affection to negotiate with the four-legged fugitive in a riverbed.

Drivers on the 5 Freeway reported the wayward 4-year-old German shepherd running in lanes around 10 p.m. on the 5 Freeway in Anaheim. Some even stopped on the freeway and opened their cars doors to let the dog inside.

The dog eventually romped into a fenced-in stretch of the Santa Ana Riverbed. 

That's where the California Highway Patrol and Orange County Animal Control used cunning and an officer's dinner to round up the dog as he explored the riverbed near Chapman Avenue, well south of the stadium. A CHP officer slowly approached the dog near a fence, displaying the container of food to hold the dog's attention.

The standoff ended when the officer got close enough to give the dog a few scratches behind its ears. Another officer climbed the rocky river bank with a leash. 

About 30 minutes after the escape, the dog was reunited with his owner, officers he was likely alarmed by loud noises during the Angels-Tampa Bay baseball game.

The dog was not injured.

Contact Us