'I just want the dog to be safe': Police alerted after dog spotted in crate attached to trailer on B.C. highway

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -

Heather Peters was on her way to get gas in Sunday’s scorching hot temperatures in Abbotsford, B.C., when she witnessed something that led her to call police.

She told CTV News she saw a large dog in a crate being transported behind a recreational trailer, which was stopped at the intersection of Delair Road and Sumas Way around 3 p.m.

“I saw the crate and I said to myself, 'Oh dear God, please don’t let there be a dog in there,'” Peters said in an interview Monday. “So I pulled over to the side and I looked and I’m like, 'Oh my God, there’s a dog.' And he’s panting, his tongue was sticking out the side, panting like crazy, looking at me.”

Peters took pictures, and followed the white Dodge truck pulling the trailer, which she said got onto Highway 1 eastbound. She also called police and filed a report.

“I’m just dumbfounded. I can’t imagine. It’s scary,” she said. “I just want the dog to be safe, that’s all. I want them to realize that you cannot transport a dog like that, that’s wrong.”

Peters followed as long as she could, but was running out of gas. Along with contacting police, she shared the pictures and her concerns online, where it has been shared thousands of times.

“I have never, ever seen anything like that in my entire life,” she said. “The dog can’t speak up for himself, so somebody else has to.”

Mounties said the Keremeos RCMP detachment received a report Sunday evening of a trailer with a crate attached travelling east towards Osoyoos, prompting a search for the vehicle's owner so authorities could check on the animal's welfare.

On Monday afternoon, Osoyoos RCMP confirmed that the animal has since been found safe in the Okanagan.

"The dog has now been located in Oliver, B.C., and is doing well," the detachment's Sgt. Jason Bayda said in a news release.

Oliver RCMP is working with SPCA enforcement officers to determine what charge or charges may be recommended in connection with the incident, authorities said.

They will also be determining "the next steps to ensure the dog's continued safety," the RCMP added.