Two dogs who captured the public’s attention during a wild pursuit through Los Angeles County involving a motor home are recovering, officials said Wednesday.
The chase started around 7 p.m. Tuesday when authorities tried to pull over a stolen RV on Towsley Canyon Road in Santa Clarita. It ended about 30 minutes later when the driver lost control of the vehicle, intentionally left the road and crashed into another car in front of a home in Tarzana, according to the California Highway Patrol.
In a particularly tense moment during the chase, one of two dogs inside the motor home jumped out of a broken window as the vehicle sped down a surface street, horrifying many viewers who were watching at the time.
“I was like, no,” Rebecka Winter recalled of her reaction to the terrifying moment. “It was so sad.”
The dog slammed into the pavement before getting up and running off the road.
The other canine remained in the RV until the end of the chase, limping alongside the female driver after she tried to flee the crash site. The dog appeared to have a bloody paw, though it was unclear how she received the injury.
“I saw the other dog here, it was really the saddest thing,” said Winter, who lived in the area where the crash ended. “I feel more sad for the dog.”
One of the dogs was transported to an emergency clinic for treatment, while the other was fine and taken to the West Valley shelter, according to Brenda Barnette, the general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services.
The injured dog was treated at VCA McClave Animal Hospital in Reseda.
“She came in last night to our emergency room … she was stable when she came in, but had sustained pretty significant front tissue injury to her front paw and also a pretty significant laceration on her front paw,” said Hughes Sanders, who works for the hospital. “She’s doing well now.”
Sanders told KTLA he expects the dog to make a full recovery, though she may have a rocky road over the next couple of weeks.
The dog has since been released and is expected to be transferred to the care of L.A. Animal Services.
Sanders described the dog as “very sweet” and described the situation as “heartbreaking.”
CHP identified the pursuit suspect as 52-year-old Julie Ann Rainbird of Winnetka. Microchips confirmed she was not the registered owner of either dog, according to Barnette.
It was not immediately known how the dogs ended up with Rainbird.
Officials are working to track down the owner, Barnette said.
