Two Arizona agencies combined to reunite a dog with its family on New Year’s Eve.

Scott Stenbakken, an operations center supervisor for the Arizona Department of Transportation, spotted a dog on a freeway camera Dec. 31 and alerted the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

After making DPS aware so a trooper could respond to the scene at Interstate 10 and 83rd Avenue, Stenbakken checked a Facebook page for lost pets.

He saw a photo of a dog named Nala, “who looked awfully similar to the dog he saw on camera and sent a message to Nala’s owners,” according to an ADOT release.

Meanwhile, a DPS trooper in Phoenix put a leash on Nala with help from a bystander and kept her from going down the ramp and onto mainline I-10, the release stated.

Stenbakken had learned that this dog was Nala. He notified the trooper, who called her owner, and a relative was able to retrieve Nala.

This story ended happily, authorities said.

They all don’t.

“If you see pets in travel lanes or near freeways, call 911 and don’t attempt to capture the pet on your own. It’s not safe to be in traffic and law enforcement and ADOT crews will respond quickly,” the release stated.

Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.