Traffic came to a near standstill as cautious drivers swerved out of the way to avoid hitting this small dog.
Presumed Florida resident and Redditor /u/Cstolt1 shared dashcam footage to the /r/Roadcam subreddit showing the harebrained moment near Fort Pierce, FL when a woman let her dog out to go to the bathroom without a leash next to a busy highway.
Untrained, the dog nearly lost its own life as it darted into traffic.
Check out the asinine moment below.
[USA] [FL] Lady letting her dog go to bathroom off leash on side of road.
byu/cstolt1 inRoadcam
OP doesn’t say exactly where this happened, but does mention it’s somewhere near Fort Pierce, FL.
As we can see in the video, OP is driving on this two-way stretch of road and, judging by his comments, was paying close attention to what the lady and her dog were doing in the moments leading up to him driving by.
One commented asked if the dog might’ve jumped out, to which OP replied,
“I was watching her from far back, and she was standing out with the dog.”
What happens next is the stuff of nightmares for both the dog owner and drivers, as the dog bolts into traffic.
Thankfully, drivers coming the other way swerve out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding hitting the excited pup.
“The car in the opposite lane as me was so close to hitting it. Scared the f*** out of me.”
The dog doubles back, at which point we can see the owner trying her best to chase after it.
Of course the dog, not understanding the danger, thinks it’s play time, and runs away.
The driver, and presumed partner of the woman, opens his door and fortunately convinces the dog to hop back into the driver’s compartment into safety.
One Redditor shared a particularly sobering story of how her Mom accidentally ran over a dog right in front of its owners, its owners doing pretty much the same thing,
Comment
byu/cstolt1 from discussion
inRoadcam
Generally, dogs should always be on a leash when in an unfamiliar place that’s not home.
And, even if you let your dog in its leash, it’s after extensive training and in an area where the likelihood of your dog encountering a stranger, speeding car, etc. is low.
Even then, unleashed on public property is technically against Florida leash laws if it’s not in an enclosed space.
The side of the road is definitely not a place for an unleashed dog, let alone leashed, if you can’t help it.
Find a safe place for your dog to use the bathroom and stretch its legs.
The side of the road is not that place.
