Deputies rescue puppy thrown from vehicle during wrong-way chase

ARDEN Hills, Minn. (WCCO) - A puppy thrown from a moving vehicle during a police chase in Minnesota is on the road to recovery.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department said the incident happened on Monday near Minneapolis.

“It involved multiple carjackings with weapons involved,” said Sgt. Dan Young, with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies said they were pursuing a stolen truck that evening that had driven the wrong way on Interstate 694 in Arden Hills.

Then, the people in the car did something else unusual.

“A small, white dog was thrown from the vehicle at highway speeds,” Young said.

Deputies said after the pursuit ended with a couple of arrests, they went back and searched for the puppy. However, they didn’t find anything that evening as temperatures dropped to below zero.

The next morning, they went out again, this time with drones, and discovered the dog wagging its tail in a snowbank.

“He was happy-go-lucky. We even got him up in the van and he was licking us. Very, very happy,” Young said.

The team said they quickly named the pit bull Tahoe because of the Chevy trucks they drive. Deputies said they took the dog to the vet where it was determined that it had a broken leg and lacerations.

Authorities said their new best friend is resilient, but Tahoe was found without tags or a chip. So, they are working on finding his owner.

Currently, the dog is staying with a Ramsey County employee and a fundraiser has brought in more than $20,000 for Tahoe’s vet bills, according to authorities.

“We’ll do our best to get him to a nice, loving family where he can live out the rest of his days in luxury. Because he’s earned it,” Young said. “It’s a feel-good story in a world where we don’t get those a lot.”

Veterinarians said they think Tahoe is about a year old.

The sheriff’s department said one of the people arrested in the incident admitted to throwing the dog from the vehicle.

According to investigators, two other suspects involved in the carjacking remain outstanding.