Man saves dog after driver leaves him on side of freeway

A man driving on Highway 60 in Jurupa Valley rescued a dog certain danger as it chased a car it was dumped from on Friday morning.

Riverside County Animal Services spokesman John Welsh said Richard Mazon pulled off the side of the road after he saw the dog running alongside a car on the shoulder of the roadway — a car that eventually drove away.

Mazon took the dog to his job at a nearby nursery and called animal services. An officer arrived, picked up the 2-month-old female terrier mix and brought it to be evaluated.

“This man is a hero for this dog,” animal services officer Mark Visyak said. “If not for his quick thinking, the dog likely would have continued running onto the highway. I don’t want to think about what could have happened to this little gal if it ended up in the middle of Highway 60.”

Mazon was so focused on saving the dog’s life, Visyak said, that we was unable to get a license plate number for the car seen driving away from the dog. He told the officer he was disgusted that someone could do something like that to a dog.

The dog’s animal identification number is A0950322. If no one comes to claim the pup, she will be available for adoption on Tuesday, Visyak said.