Highway hero rescues, adopts stray dog

When Rich Dimaio, a member of ADOT's Incident Response Team, sponsored by GEICO, suited up for work the morning of Tuesday, April 30, he didn't expect he'd come home with new member of his family

Going about his usual morning routine, Dimaio received a call on his radio from dispatchers to respond to an incident on Interstate-17 near Thomas Road in Phoenix.

There, an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was pulled over to the side of the highway, trying to catch an agitated female German Shepherd that had been darting in and out of traffic.

"I was way out," he said. "I didn't expect to get there in time. Typically these animals don't make it. It's pretty rare."

When Dimaio arrived on scene, all traffic had stopped.

"Just imagine at 6 in the morning, 7 in the morning, how much traffic there was," he said.

Rich just happened to be pulling up when his dispatchers radio'd that the dog was running his way.

"I went to get her with the catch pole and she ducked it and took off."

After a lot of scrambling, Dimaio and the trooper eventually caught the dog and Dimaio took her to Maricopa County Animal Care & Control.

"I could just see the fear that she had," he said. "She had nobody."

"Her eyes just melted me," he added. "I just told her at the time, 'I promise you if nobody claims you, I'll take you home.'"

About a week went before Dimaio got a call from animal control officials. They said no one had claimed the dog and they wanted to know if he still wanted to adopt her.

Dimaio didn't hesitate.

"I said, 'Absolutely.'"

Today, the 4-year-old German Shepherd, who has been named "Freya" by Rich and his wife Florame, is a new dog. She's put on weight and a minor injury she had to her leg has healed.

The timid pooch took a while to come out of her shell, but she's settled in nicely with the Dimaios.

"Today I was blown away," he said. "She was chasing the ball."

Rich said Freya is very food-motivated and her favorite treats are Costco chicken, which he gives to her without the skin, and peanut butter snacks.

Freya's still learning the rules of the house, including staying off of the beds. Still Rich admitted when Florame isn't home, he occasionally lets her snuggle up with him there for pets and belly rubs.

"I can't say no to her," he said.

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