Dog stranded by trucker's death offered a way home

A puppy stranded in Nebraska by the death of a trucker is getting a flight home to California.

The dog named Zak was with 59-year-old Robert Shields on Sunday when Shields' tractor-trailer rig drifted off Interstate 80 and hit a bridge support in Omaha.

Police said Shields might have had a heart attack. The year-old dog was only scratched.



Shields' wife told the Nebraska Humane Society the family desperately wanted Zak home in Poway, Calif.

Humane society spokeswoman Pam Wiese (WEECE) put out a call for help. American Airlines general manager in Omaha, Michele Henry, said yesterday the airline will pay the dog's fare of about $300.

Zak is expected home later today.

There's a news video here.