Back in January 2016, as California Highway Patrol officers approached a car parked on the side of the 710 Freeway in Los Angeles, the woman behind the wheel, Tiffini Tobe, took off and lead the officers on a slow-speed chase. It ended in Long Beach when officers used the PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver to make Tobe’s car spin around and stop.
Tobe got out of her car along with three of the six Pit Bull mixes who were inside it. After they ran up to Tobe, was lying face down on the freeway and about to be arrested, the dogs started running around, their tails wagging. They were soon joined by the other three dogs in the car.
What could have been a terrible situation was avoided, because the CHP officers were able to stop traffic on both sides of the freeway. (My sincere gratitude to those CHPs, considering that some cops would have likely shot the loose dogs). Animal control officers from City of Long Beach Animal Care Services were able to corral all six dogs.
“This gives a whole new meaning to the term PIT maneuver,” ABC7 cleverly wrote on its Facebook page at the time.
The six Pit Bulls corralled after the car chase, including three puppies, their mother and two other dogs, had “no obvious signs of significant injury or illness,” Ted Stevens, manager of Long Beach Animal Care Services told NBC Los Angeles. “So far they’ve shown no aggression. They appear bright, alert, responsive, friendly.”
Being taken to the Long Beach city animal shelter may have been the best thing to ever happen to Tobe’s dogs.
The previous year, Tobe had been charged with a misdemeanor count (that’s all?!) of failing to provide veterinary treatment after one of her dogs had chewed the skin off a rear foot, exposing the bone. The 4-year-old Pit Bull was suffering from hypertrophic osteopathy and had to be euthanized. Tobe was ordered at the time not to have any pets.
When she failed to show up for a hearing a few weeks before the car chase, a warrant was issued for her arrest. After she was arrested by the CHP, Tobe was charged with a felony count of reckless driving and misdemeanor counts of DUI, resisting an officer and driving without a license.
Sadly, one month later, Tobe died after she jumped from a moving bus.
But Tobe’s dogs had much more fortunate outcomes. The puppies and one of the adult dogs were all soon adopted. The remaining two dogs, sisters Brittney and Honey, were transferred to the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center in Long Beach.
Brittney became involved in spcaLA’s award-winning violence prevention program, Teaching Love and Compassion (TLC). She spent a month visiting a middle school with five other shelter dogs, helping the students learn to treat animals and all living beings with kindness and compassion.
In January, one year after the car chase, Brittney was finally adopted. “It is a true testament to the dedication of the spcaLA staff and volunteers that Brittney has found her forever home,” Madeline Bernstein, spcaLA president, said at the time. “They regained her trust in humans as they helped her overcome her inhibitions. For her to finish her shelter stay working with kids is truly extraordinary.”
As a further testament to the dedication of spcaLA, Brittney’s sister, Honey, has also just been adopted, 15 months after the car chase.
“It couldn’t be a better situation for her,” Bernstein said. “A true Hollywood ending.”
Photo via YouTube