Police officer who saved terrified puppy from five lane motorway hailed a hero

A Peruvian policeman who stepped out onto a busy motorway and ordered traffic across five lanes to stop so he could rescue a puppy has been hailed a hero. The officer, later identified as Juan Manuel Iman Zena, 34, said he was worried about the puppy after he spotted it on the busy Panamericana Sur, in the Peruvian capital Lima, but added he had also been worried that the animal might cause a serious accident.

He said: "I could see that there was no way the young dog was going to make it back and it's amazing he even managed to get the central reservation in the first place. I knew it was about to be hit at any moment, and was worried that if a car tried to swerve it might cause an accident." So he then started to wave down the traffic, eventually crossing five lanes and stopping all of them before slowly approaching the puppy and grabbing it by the scruff of the neck to carry it back to safety.
He then put the animal on a makeshift lead while he checked out the collar to help him track down the owners. He said: "I had an easy job with the last part, the telephone number for the owners was on the collar and I simply called them and they were very grateful to be reunited with their pet. I was only doing my job."

YouTube link. Raw video footage.

The president of the Peruvian Animal Protection Association, Cecilia Degregori, said that it was great to see positive news about dogs and people in the media for a change. She said: "Unfortunately, we see daily reports of cruelty and indifference against animals and we are fighting to change this attitude. However I must say to this policeman, with your behavior we are proud of you and the Peruvian police and we see in you hope for the future for change."