El Paso Company Apologizes For Unrestrained Dog Riding On Back Of A Flatbed Truck

A photo of a dog on the back of a truckhas sparked a ton of social media anger. The dog didn't have a leash to keep it from falling off the flatbed while it sped down I-10. The truck in the photo belongs to Five Star Automatic Fire Protection, and Vice President of Five Star, Veronica Palacios, said angry phone calls to the company alerted her to the dog on the truck. She called the driver and told him to pull over immediately. The driver and a Five Star supervisor, who was a passenger in the truck, were both fired.

It turns out, the dog belonged to the driver.

Five Star posted a statement on their Facebook page that said:

"All of our employees have been counseled about the need to avoid endangering any animals in the course of their duties, whether owned by them or others. We are also concerned about the hazards which our employees’ conduct posed to other drivers who may have taken evasive measures from seeing the dog in apparent danger. We are thankful that there were no injuries resulting from this incident, including to the dog."

Currently, there is no city ordinance that prevents you from putting an animal in an open or flat-bed truck. A city official said the City is thinking about putting language in the animal ordinance that would require either a proper restraint or that an animal be in a kennel while in a moving vehicle.

A meeting about revisions to the city's animal ordinance will be held Thursday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the main conference room of the Animal Services Shelter, 5001 Fred Wilson Road, in Northeast El Paso. The public is invited to attend.