Northbound the stray German Shepherd brings chaos to freeway as she goes 'walkies' during rush hour

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Updated: 08:44 EST, 6 January 2011

It was a 'ruff' commute home, all right.

Motorists were forced to swerve and change lanes to avoid a stray German Shepherd which brought chaos to a busy freeway during rush hour.

Huge queues were caused as the dog - dubbed Northbound by rescuers - wandered across lanes on the I-95 interstate in Philadelphia.

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Changing lanes: The German Shepherd sparks chaos as it walks across the I-95 in Philadelphia

Lucky hound: The dog, nicknamed Northbound, was nearly hit on several occasions as it traversed the highway

In scenes reminiscent of the video game Frogger, the dog zigzagged back and forth across four lanes of traffic, almost getting hit on several occasions.

It was first spotted on traffic cameras on Monday night but then returned to the same stretch of road at around 6am on Tuesday.

And three hours later, the dog wandered off the highway into the city's Tacony area.

Under arrest: The law catches up with the German Shepherd after it makes its way off the interstate

Police eventually cornered the scared animal and Tasered it to bring it under control.

'The dog was about to attack one of the officers,' said police captain Francis Bachmayer. 'We did not want any injuries.'

The dog was later transferred to Philadelphia's Animal Control Shelter.

'The early word is that she appears she will be all right medically,' said Wendy Marano, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

'She is an older animal, and she looks like she's been fending for herself on the streets for a while, so she's a little skittish.'

First visit: The dog was first spotted on the section of highway on Monday night - and it returned the following morning

Gotcha! The hound is Tasered as it tries to attack a police officer but is now safely at an animal shelter and doing well