'Taho' Euthanized After Ramsey Co. Rescue: 'A Tortured Existence'

TWIN CITIES, MN — "Taho," the puppy thrown out of a car window during a police chase earlier this winter, has been euthanized.

The 7-month-old pit bull was abused by his owner and suffered severe trauma as a result, according to the nonprofit Pet Haven, which took care of Taho after he was saved by authorities in January.

"As rescuers, we sometimes have to endure the heartbreak of not being able to change outcomes the way we hoped. Taho was one of those heartbreaks," wrote Pet Haven on April 14.

"Goodbye to this beautiful soul who had been living his life in constant fear, anxiety, and severe trauma. A tortured existence."

Pet Haven provided a detailed explanation of Taho's care and behavioral issues, including numerous bite incidents.

Taho's rescue

In late January, Ramsey County deputies began nursing Taho back to health after he was thrown out of a car window during a police chase on Interstate 649 in the north Twin Cities metro.

During the chase, the suspects started driving down the wrong way on Interstate 694 in Arden Hills, according to police. At one point, someone in the car threw out an unidentified "white object" from one of the passenger doors, authorities said.

The white object hit the freeway and rolled while in the lanes of traffic, according to deputies.

During a review of squad camera footage, deputies learned that the white object thrown onto the interstate was a puppy.

The following morning, authorities found the puppy hiding amid subzero temperatures in a snowbank on the side of the interstate. He was located only about 50 yards from where he was thrown, investigators said.

The puppy — less than a year old — was rushed to an emergency veterinarian with a broken leg and other injuries. He was then put into the foster care of Ramsey County deputies, who named him "Taho," before he was given to Pet Haven.

"We want to be clear that behavioral euthanasia is not a first-choice decision. Ever," Pet Haven added in their statement last week.

"It is looking at an animal's quality of life as a whole and then exhausting all options to make it better. It can be much harder to see from the outside than a very sick-looking dog, for example."