Bad Dog! Chihuahua Sped Off After Seeing the Police, Leading to a ‘High Speed’ Pursuit

The Bay Bridge in San Francisco was briefly closed on Sunday morning due to a wild chase between the California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers and an unlikely suspect--a chihuahua.

According to NBC Los Angeles, Officer Vu Williams, a spokesperson for CHP San Francisco, said a driver reported seeing a dog a little after 7 a.m. on the westbound Bay Bridge.

CHP Officers arrived in the bridge and spotted the dog on the north side catwalk heading toward San Francisco.

They temporarily stopped the traffic on the bridge to bring the dog to the safety, but when the little dog saw the approaching the police, it suddenly sped off.

What happens next is the cutest wild chase you might ever see.

High speed pursuit this morning on the #BayBridge! Suspect taken into custody. All are safe!#onlyinSF pic.twitter.com/Ny5dgSRITz

- CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) April 3, 2016

The dog was tailed by a motorcycle officer trying to scoop the animal to safety, followed by a squad car driven by Williams.

Los Angeles Times reported that the pursuit lasted for about 5 to 10 minutes with four failed attempts to scoop the dog.

During the chase, Williams took out his iPhone and recorded a few seconds of the pursuit. The video quickly turned viral after it was posted in one of the Twitter accounts of the police group.

The chihuahua was finally caught when other officers in the squad cars boxed the dog. The dog was distracted with a jacket while one officer scooped it up.

The police officer did not see any identification information on the chihuahua, except for skull dangling from its collar.

The apprehended dog, according to USA Today, was taken to San Francisco County Animal Care and was named "Ponch" by the staff members after Erik Estrada's character, CHP Officer Frank Poncherel, in the TV show "CHiPs."

The dog is reported to be well and is recovering from the greatest adventure of his life.

 Chihuahua rescued from #BayBridge has been picked up by SF County Animal Care. Pls call 415 554 6364 if he's yours pic.twitter.com/x2c607XtR5 - CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) April 3, 2016 

Instead of being charged for failing to pull over and resisting arrest, CHP is now helping Ponch finding its owner.