No call – or no dog – too small for Delta Police

Nov. 28, 2019

A Boston Terrier which escaped out of a backyard in Delta November 27 led police on quite a chase down Highways 10 and 17A, as an officer tried to capture him safely.

The cheeky fellow even headed into the HOV lane for a short time, but the officer showed discretion, and no ticket was issued for this flagrant disregard of the signage.

Constable Terry Sansregret, of the Delta Police Traffic Unit, first spotted the dog on Highway 10 westbound in the 6200 block, running on the road.

“I blocked traffic and I, along with another motorist tried to grab him on foot,” says Constable Sansregret. “My concern was that he was heading for the busy intersection of Highways 17 and 10.”

But the wily terrier eluded capture, so Cst. Sansregret activated his lights and sirens to alert traffic. By that point the dog had started down Highway 17A toward the tunnel.

At first the dog ran alongside the roadway, but then he switched to the HOV lane. This caused Cst. Sansregret to pause for a moment, as motorists misusing this lane are a common complaint amongst commuters. (He later notes he used discretion and determined he would not ticket the dog.)

Cst. Sansregret said the dog did make an effort to leave the HOV lane, actually trying to jump the median to cross the road.

“Luckily he was too short so he continued on toward Highway 99 at a good clip,” says Cst. Sansregret. “I kept traffic back, trying to take up all three lanes. Another motorist tried to corral the dog but he slipped away. Finally, another motorist was able to stop ahead of me and we managed to safely capture the runaway.”

Cst. Sansregret and the captured runaway - he intended only to capture the dog's image, so he could share it with other police officers working that day, who might hear about the escaped dog.

He credits the other drivers on the road at the time both for their patience, and for their assistance in helping capture the elusive terrier.

“This was definitely a team effort.”

Cst. Sansregret brought the terrier to the Delta Community Animal Shelter, and they were able to reunite the dog with his owners the same day. As it turns out, the little terrier is actually deaf, which explains why he didn’t respond to the police siren.