RESCUING RALPH: METRO passenger saves dog found running in HOV lane
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Loose animals and freeways don't mix, and the animals usually pay the price with their lives.
That makes what happened Thursday afternoon on a METRO HOV lane on the North Freeway remarkable and heart-warming.
"I was looking at my phone, when the bus started slowing down," said passenger Belli McQueen, who had a front row seat on the bus. "I saw a white dog running in front, and my heart dropped. Some passengers were telling the driver to go around the dog."
McQueen saw a life that needed to be saved.
"He was getting scared and was about to try to jump over the HOV barricade and into moving rush hour traffic," she said. "He would've been hit and it could have caused an accident, with people hurt. I couldn't let that happen."
With the safety of other drivers in mind, she said, the bus driver stopped and McQueen got off the bus. She started running down the managed lane, trying to call the white Husky mix.
When dogs are lost and afraid, their instinct is often to keep running. This dog knew a friend, even from a distance.
"He turned around and because I was this way, (kneeling) and about the same height, he came to me. I grabbed him by the collar and took him on the bus and gave him water and everything. He was friendly and when we got to my car, he jumped in," McQueen said.
McQueen couldn't keep him at her home, but the daughter of another passenger she knew agreed to take him in. The dog McQueen gave the name, "Ralph," had no dog tags or microchip.
The friend said she may take him to a shelter unless a rescue group takes him.
"We want him to have a good home. He's very sweet and friendly and just grateful to be with us," she said.
McQueen told her story in the hope that will happen.
"If I could take him I would. Now I just want him to have a wonderful life," she said.
Rescue inquiries can be made by emailing Eshaleon@gmail.com.
