Deputies shoot dog in I-90 traffic

Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies say they were forced to shoot a pug on Interstate 90 after they were unable to catch the dog during rush-hour traffic.

Kootenai County sheriff’s Lt. Dan Soumas says law enforcement officers from three agencies – the Idaho State Patrol, the Post Falls Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department – used food and entreaties to try to catch the little pug Friday afternoon, but the animal kept darting away from them, scampering into traffic and nearly causing several wrecks.

Some passers-by also stopped to help, and the officers even brought a couple of leashed dogs to see if the pug would come over to check out a fellow canine, he said.

As cars continued to swerve and weave around the dog at 70 mph, Soumas said the deputies realized they’d have to shoot the animal before a person was hurt.

Soumas said the pug didn’t have a collar and its fur was matted, as if it had been a stray for some time.