Cleveland Based SETHRA Bus Driver Loses Job Saving Dogs In Cold Weather

An emotional Liz Freeman spent Monday helping "Sam," one of the two dogs she saved, get adopted while she remains jobless.

SETHRA terminated her employment after she rerouted her bus in cold weather conditions two weeks ago with two stray dogs she found at a Cleveland Wal-Mart on board.
 
"I was trying to rescue the dogs only, because I couldn’t stand to leave them there, i wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night."

SETHRA’s HR team cites "inappropriate behavior", "breaking company policy" and "unsatisfactory performance" as their reasons for Liz’s termination.

Chris Kleehammer, Assistant Exec Director for SETHRA,"The driver did not complete the second half of her route, she took a couple of dogs on her bus, went to the animal shelter and then went back to the top of the route skipping a half hour of it altogether."

Kleehammer added that Freeman’s priority as a bus driver lies with her passengers not with animals.

"Had it been worse conditions we would have been more concerned about the passengers who were at the bus stops that never got serviced."

Some of Liz’s passengers have come to her defense and demand she get reinstated by SETHRA.

"They should allow that, as long as you know, If the pet is well trained and not harming anyone, many cities do allow that," says Faheem Bengazi, one of Liz’s passengers.

One of the dog’s Liz rescued was adopted last week while Sam a labrador pit mix has found a new home in Cleveland Monday.

Kim Burger, Adoptive owner of Sam,"I couldn’t let them kill him, he was so beautiful, there was no way I was going to let them kill him, he was just what I wanted."

Animal rights activists have now called for Liz to be given an award for her actions.
    
SETHRA say they have received an appeal application as of Monday afternoon from Liz and are reviewing it.