MORGAN CITY, La. -- The Chihuahua who stopped traffic on the La. 182 bridge into Berwick has been adopted into a family of rescues.

He now makes his home in Stephensville under the name Freddy Krueger.

Sue Bennett said she names all of her Chihuahuas for horror movie characters because they can be difficult animals. Freddy is the fourth to join her pack, along with Norman Bates and Sybil.

Rounding out the group are a Golden Labrador who was rescued from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and a brown Labrador who showed up on Bennett’s street shortly after the Golden Labrador.

Bennett said her husband called her after he read the original article in The Daily Review detailing Freddy’s traffic-stopping bridge crossing Dec. 20 and told her to adopt him. She knew Freddy had to wait at the St. Mary Parish Animal Shelter for a week in case anyone came forward to claim him.

When the second article ran in the paper saying he was available for adoption, Bennett’s husband told her to call the pound. However, that was on New Year’s Eve and the pound was closed. She was the first person to call for Freddy when the shelter opened Wednesday.

Shelter employees said six or seven other people called the same day to inquire about his adoption and also report that the number of inquiries about what animals are available for adoption there is up since Freddy’s story was made public.

Bennett said she believes Freddy was dumped off by someone who didn’t want him anymore and that he had been on the streets for some time. He has a broken leg that has healed on its own, she said. While he doesn’t have much use of it, he gets around her home well, navigating steps and using the doggie door like her other dogs.

“I wish people wouldn’t sell puppies. People throw them away after they get big,” Bennett said.

He won’t have to worry about that in Stephensville. While he may have gained a fierce name, Freddy also has gained a home.

St. Mary Parish Animal Shelter’s phone number is 337-828-4646.