Local couple’s pup stops Chicago traffic

Published 12:00 pm Sunday, October 20, 2013

Hope, owned by Dan and Mary Jo Dorman, reportedly got loose from their son’s house in the Chicago area on Sunday and tied up traffic for more than an hour.  Photo submitted

Hope, owned by Dan and Mary Jo Dorman, reportedly got loose from their son’s house in the Chicago area on Sunday and tied up traffic for more than an hour.
Photo submitted

An Albert Lea dog is causing big waves in Chicago after it reportedly got loose last Sunday and caused a traffic jam on a major highway for more than an hour.

The dog, named Hope, was adopted by Dan and Mary Jo Dorman a few years ago after Dan found it abandoned near their home. Dan said the dog, a black pit bull terrier, appeared to have been abused and can sometimes get very nervous around other people.

He said he and his wife were in Chicago visiting their son Chris, who lives and works there.

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Dan said he and Mary Jo had gone for a bike ride while Chris and his roommates stayed home to watch a football game. Somehow Hope got out.

The dog made its way onto the Kennedy Expressway near Chris’s apartment and reportedly tied up traffic for at least an hour, Dan said.

She has still not been found.

Since then, Dorman said, he and his family are trying to spread the word of Hope on Facebook, Twitter and other places.

“We’re still hopeful,” he said.

He has received emails from people who think they have spotted her.

“We’re asking people to post it and retweet it,” Dan said.