Los Angeles residents tuned in to to watch a police chase Wednesday night involving a white van.
Attention quickly turned to saving the dog, with locals expressing their hopes for his recovery on Twitter.
I'm a cat lover but #savethewhitedog dammit.
get well, "man's best friend". #savethewhitedog
Even police in the area got involved, and the dog was soon identified as Gordo.
**Update: Have not heard of any luck finding the white dog yet. Hoping someone saw it happen and took it to get help. #savethewhitedog
The 1-year-old Maltese mix was taken to a local animal hospital, where treatment began.
He went into surgery Thursday afternoon.
The dog's owner told local media that he had opened his door to see the pursuit passing by, and Gordo ran out into the street.
Gordo's owner on fox 11 at 5! Why was dog out? @myfoxla #savethewhitedog
The surgery went well, according to the animal hospital, and he's expected to recover.
