Abandoned Dog Chases After Owner’s Truck In Louisiana

An abandoned dog chased after his apparent owner’s truck in a story that will break your heart.

According to ABC News, a woman captured a photo of a German shepherd mix running after a pick-up truck in Louisiana, after his owners allegedly abandoned him at a Shell gas station. The dog ran down a busy highway for over a mile, and was “weaving through traffic,” determined to keep his family in range.

Heartbreaking photo shows moment dog chases owner’s truck after being dumped in road http://t.co/y2L2qhWz0Dpic.twitter.com/RokAdIGukF

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) March 17, 2015

To make matters worse, this apparently wasn’t the first time that these people have done this to their pet.

“A local reporter found the owners, and we’ve discovered it’s not uncommon at all for this family to abandon the dog at the station and let it chase their truck. They’ve done this multiple times and apparently think it’s no big deal, and they don’t seem to care about the welfare of the dog,” explained Humane Society of Louisiana director Jeff Dorson.

The abandoned dog that chased after the truck is still with his family, and the Humane Society has decided to give them another chance. At the same time, they are hoping to get the dog’s owners cited for this act, as they feel this behavior is cruel and unwarranted.

“We’re going over there later today to educate them about the dangers they’re putting their dog and motorists through. We’re hoping to get a citation issued through our local animal control against the owners for having their dog at large,” Dorson said.

Laurie Hollis is the woman who snapped the photo with her cell phone and called police. She describes what she witnessed, which is something that many would consider unacceptable.

“I saw a gentleman walking around the gas station with the dog following him, and I thought he was homeless. He then sat on the back of this pickup truck and talked to the dog, who seemed to be very in tune to what he was saying. Next thing I know, another man comes out, he tells the dog to ‘get out’ and ‘go away.’ He shut the tail gate, and the dog tries to put its paws up to climb, but he just enters the truck and they back up real fast almost hitting the dog and speed off.”

The abandoned dog chased his family for an unknown amount of time, as Hollis followed the truck for as long as she could. According to CNN, Hollis lost sight of the vehicle and the dog after about a mile. It’s unknown how fast the truck had been going at the time or how bad the traffic had been.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, employees at the gas station were the least bit helpful. They told Hollis to mind her own business (but in a much harsher manner), and also said that people shouldn’t be making such a “big deal” out of this. What do you think? Should the dog be taken away from his owners? Is this incident a “big deal”?

[Photo via Twitter]