Lexi was escorted off I-495. (Lawrence Police photograph.)
It took a temporary shutdown Wednesday afternoon of Interstate 495 southbound in Methuen and a granola bar to rescue a dog that wandered into highway traffic.
Massachusetts State Police out of the Andover barracks responded to reports of a “large German Shepherd walking in the travel lanes” on I-495 southbound in Methuen, near the route 110, Merrimack Street exit. Troopers found a “pup was walking in and out of traffic in all three lanes,” according to a statement.
“Troopers Malachy Higgins and Dana Atkinson responded and located the dog and tried to escort her off the roadway and toward an off-ramp. The dog, however, ran back into traffic,” a spokesperson said. Methuen and Lawrence police, as well as the Department of Transportation, provided further assistance.
“With the help of Methuen Police and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, all lanes of traffic were temporarily closed. Trooper Higgins then lured the roaming pup into his cruiser with a granola bar. The dog jumped into the driver’s seat and sat behind the wheel,” the spokesperson added.
The trooper did get the dog to move over to the passenger side, police said. The German Shepherd, known as “Lexi,” was transported to Lawrence Animal Control, which later reunited the dog with her family.