Video Of Hero Dog Pulling Another Dog From A Busy Highway

Outline
Widely circulated video depicts a dog dragging another dog to the side of a busy road while dodging oncoming traffic.



Brief Analysis
The video is genuine. The doggy rescue depicted in the video took place in Santiago, Chile in late 2008. Sadly, the injured dog died and his rescuer ran off after the incident and has never been located.

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Last updated: 29h December 2011
First published: 29th December 2011
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example


Detailed Analysis
This video, which has been circulating online and via email since late 2008, depicts a dog apparently attempting to save the life of another dog by dragging him off a busy highway. The footage shows a dog being struck by a car and then a second dog rushing in and pulling him through fast moving traffic to the side of the roadway.

The footage is genuine. It was caught by a traffic camera on the Vespucio Norte Highway in Santiago, Chile on March 23, 2008. However, despite the claim in the video, the injured dog did not survive. Moreover, the whereabouts and current condition of the hero canine remains unknown. The dog ran off after the rescue attempt and has never been located. A December 9 2008 report on msnbc notes:

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chilean officials say they have lost hope of finding a dog whose attempted rescue of an injured animal inspired worldwide admiration.

Jorge Rivas, operations manager for Vespucio Norte Highway in Santiago, said police and highway workers had searched for the dog several times, "but not any more."

He said too much time has passed since March 23, when a surveillance camera captured images of the apparently homeless dog pulling the body of another, injured dog through busy traffic to the relative safety of a freeway median strip. The other dog, which had been hit by vehicles, died.

The LA Times concurs, noting in a December 5 2008 article:

Authorities say images of the rescue prompted some people to call and offer to adopt the dog, but neither highway workers nor a television crew could find the animal when they went to hunt for it.

Some reports suggest that the incident took place in December 2008, but as noted above, the footage was captured in March 2008. This confusion was due to the fact that the footage was first shown on television in December, 2008, some months after the incident actually occurred.



References
Little hope for Chile's highway hero dog
Hero dog' pulls another dog from oncoming traffic

Last updated: 29th December 2011
First published: 29th December 2011
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer