CORTLAND, N.Y. — State police are seeking the public's assistance in locating the people responsible for throwing two dogs out of a moving vehicle in Cortland County on Wednesday.
Troopers patrolling Interstate 81 in the Whitney Point area spotted a tractor trailer parked in the left lane of the interstate at around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The troopers observed the door of the tractor trailer was open and vacant. As they looked up the interstate, they spotted the truck driver carrying one badly injured dog and another following behind him.
Troopers immediately rendered assistance to the injured dog. A New York State Police K9 handler bandaged the injured dog to stop bleeding and splinted its leg while other troopers kept the dog warm in a warming blanket and in the truck driver's sweatshirt. The smaller dog was fed dog biscuits.
The Broome County Humane Society was contacted and took possession of the dogs, who are believed to be a beagle mix and are currently being treated.
The truck driver told troopers he observed a vehicle, which he believes to be an older Dog Durango, slow down, roll down their rear passenger window and throw the dogs out of the window. He described the vehicle as very dirty with rust along the hatch near the bumper area. He told troopers that he immediately stopped to get the dogs to safety.
Investigators hope that a dash cam on the vehicle may have captured some of the incident, but have no other leads thus far. The vehicle was traveling south on I-81 between the Marathon and Whitney Point exits around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact state police in Homer at 607-749-1614.
