Police looking for suspects who threw dogs from car onto freeway

VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) - Washington State Patrol is looking for a white car from which two dogs were thrown on an onramp to Interstate 205 in Vancouver.

State troopers said a 911 caller witnessed the dogs being thrown on the ramp from Northeast Padden Parkway to I-205 Northbound around 10 p.m. on New Year's Day.

The caller said the car slowed down to about 15 to 20 mph, and he saw the left rear door open. When he drove by the location where the door opened, he found two dogs rolling on the ground. Meanwhile, the suspect's car took off at a high rate of speed.

The dogs - a Chihuahua and a female Cocker Spaniel - were not injured. They both had collars, but no tags, and will be handed over to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. At this time, it's unknown if the dogs had microchips with owner information.

Police said the incident could have been much worse with the possibility of the dogs running into traffic and causing a traumatic situation for another driver and the dogs themselves.

The witness who found the dogs wrote a post to his Facebook page, saying there were other options for the people who tossed the dogs out of the car.

"Currently sitting on the on-ramp with a poodle and a Chihuahua in my trunk waiting for animal control to pick them up. I wish those people would have tried Craigslist instead! Lol," he wrote.

Now troopers hope other witnesses will come forward with information on the suspects. The car involved may have been a mid to late 1990s Ford Taurus. It had Washington license plates, and it's believed the pattern was three letters followed by four numbers.

There were at least two people inside the car - the driver and the person who threw the dogs onto the road's shoulder.

Anyone with information is asked to call Trooper Justin Maier at 360-449-7999.

From KPTV