Clifford, a big hound dog who was rescued from the side of the New Jersey Turnpike last December, has found a forever home after spending most of the last two months at the Burlington County Animal Shelter.

Lisa Yochim of Absecon adopted the 2-year-old hound mix on Feb. 22 after learning about his remarkable rescue near the Exit 6 interchange on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The reddish, brown dog was spotted running lose on the turnpike in late December and caused traffic to stop on the southbound lanes.

Among the vehicles that came to a halt was a large truck that the frightened dog hid under until the driver and some other motorists eventually coaxed him out.

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The truck driver named the dog Clifford, after the classic children’s book, “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”

After being rescued from beneath the truck, Clifford was turned over to the Florence Township animal control officer, who brought him to the shelter. He was examined and held for the shelter’s seven-day stray period before being put up for adoption.

Yochim visited Clifford and became smitten after learning about him from news reports and social media. She completed the application process and officially welcomed Clifford to her family after he recovered from surgery.

All animals at the shelter are spayed or neutered, brought up to date on their vaccines and microchipped for permanent identification before they are adopted out.

According to Yochim’s comment on the Burlington County Animal Shelter’s Facebook post about the adoption, “Clifford is adjusting well and gets lots of love!”

Burlington County Commissioner Felicia Hopson said she hopes Clifford’s happy ending inspires others to consider adopting from the shelter.

“Our entire Board was overjoyed to learn that Clifford was getting a new forever home following his harrowing adventure on the turnpike,” said Hopson, who serves as the Commissioners’ liaison to the shelter. “Our shelter staff and volunteers do an amazing job caring for all the animals that come into the shelter, but we all want nothing more than to find loving homes for all the adoptable animals.”

(editor：)