Drivers on the North Freeway in Houston, Texas, on Saturday morning were witness to an unusual sight as two dogs trotted along in the protected HOV lane.
It’s unclear how the dogs got there — whether they were abandoned on the road or somehow found their way into the HOV lane — or how long they’d been there, but at some point, the police were involved and approached the wandering pair.
One of the dogs was a small, female maltese, and the other was a male husky, and video showed them panting but trotting at a normal speed, not racing across lanes in a panic.
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At around 10:00 a.m., after blocking traffic, METRO police officers caught up to the dogs and got out to coax them into a cruiser.
Video showed the husky sitting patiently and waiting to jump into the car, looking almost relieved. The maltese was a little more skittish but readily jumped into the car as well.
The two appeared in good condition and properly groomed and cared for, giving rescuers the impression that they must belong to someone, but they were not microchipped.
“These are likely somebody’s pets,” BARC Houston’s Cory Stottlemyer told KTRK-TV. “And if these are your animals, you know, it kind of is a reminder to the public to get your pets microchipped.
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“You know, we changed the ordinance. So it’s mandatory. We’ve given the public a year to come into compliance, but we really urge you the importance. If these are your dogs and they got out, if they were microchipped, we could have easily quickly reunited them with you.”
The shelter is giving the owners until Monday evening to claim their dogs, which will be available for adoption by Tuesday if no one steps forward.
Someone has already spoken for the maltese if no owner shows up.
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So far, no word on owners, which suggests the possibility that these otherwise-cared-for pups may have been abandoned.
“If they were in a situation where they were unfortunately dumped,” Stottlemyer added, “we do have intake available. You can go to our website and schedule an appointment.
“We much rather you turn a pet in. We don’t judge. We do have some resource information on our website available.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
