Over two years ago, a black stray dog wandered onto the Sun Yat-sen Freeway and has lived ever since on the central island of the freeway, under bad conditions, perhaps because it dares not cross the busy road again.
The medium-sized dog lives on the central island between Changhua Interchange and Yuanlin Toll Station in central Taiwan.
The dog lives on food thrown at it by drivers. Since the place is located at the 209th kilometer of the freeway, local police have called the dog "209," while reporters at National Traffic Network of the Police radio station call it the "dog of Changhua."
PHOTO: YEN HUNG-CHUN, TAIPEI TIMES
"I bet it is the stray dog that has survived the longest on a freeway island," said a driver surnamed Yen (
Yen first noticed "209" on a rainy morning over two years ago and he saw it again at the same location the next day.
Nobody knows exactly where "209" is from.
Local police said that it usually lingers on the 1m-wide island between Changhua Interchange, located at the 200th kilometer of the freeway, and Yuanlin Toll Station, at the 216th kilometer of the freeway.
Numerous drivers called Police Radio Station to show their concern, and "209" became famous.
A woman surnamed Lai (
Lai said that she feels happy whenever she sees "209," because it is good to know that the dog is still alive. She hopes it will be leave the freeway someday, because a wide and beautiful world is waiting for it on the other side of the road, she said.
Local police said that "209" mostly waits for food around the 209th kilometer of the freeway between 7am and 9am when drivers go to work and between 4pm and 6pm when they go off work.
It is a miracle that "209" has survived under such difficult conditions, they added.
In response to the case, workers from Taichung Universal Animal Protection Association said they would provide necessary tools and assistance to local police to move "209" from the island.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS