PALM COAST — Video shared online of a dog apparently chained atop and standing outside a cage attached to a speeding SUV on Interstate 95 in Palm Coast has prompted an investigation by Flagler County animal control officials.

The video, which was posted online about 6 p.m. Wednesday, had been viewed nearly 230,000 times by Thursday afternoon. Officials with the humane society, which handles the county’s animal control services, has been flooded with calls from angry and concerned residents reporting the incident, Flagler County Humane Society spokesman Jeffery Ritter said Thursday.

“There are a lot of concerned people right now,” he said. “As to a number, I don’t think we’re keeping track of that. But a lot of people have called, just because it has been shared so much and so many people have seen it.”

Flagler County Animal Control officers investigated the incident and will cite the driver of the SUV with a civil infraction for violating a county ordinance. The ordinance for transporting in open vehicles stipulates that all dogs “transported in the open bed of pickup trucks, or in any other type of open vehicle … be restrained by a minimum of two tethers” or a similar device to safely restrain them. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the investigation.

Brenna Cronin originally posted the video to her Facebook page Wednesday night, and it was later shared with the Palm Coast Swip Swap page where it took off. The 11-second clip shows a Blue American Pitbull Terrier named Zeus riding on the back of a trailer attached to a Chevy SUV traveling southbound along I-95 by a single tether, according to the humane society. Zeus was atop of metal cage being towed by the SUV on a flatbed with another vehicle behind it. There were two other dogs inside the cage.

Cronin said she spotted the vehicle shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday and recorded it on her phone. She was unable to call 9-1-1 to report it until she got home because she said her phone was not in service.

"I'm just glad they were able to do something about it," said Cronin, who owns two dogs herself. "I was just appalled because when I saw the dog, it just looked terrified. And then when it saw me looking at it, it stood up and was kind of looking at me with its eyes like 'Help me.' People might think that's stupid, but their eyes say a lot."

Ritter said the driver, whose name has not been released, is a Hastings man who was heading to Bulow Plantation in southern Flagler to go hog hunting.

A woman who claimed to be the man’s wife commented on the original Facebook post and said Zeus enjoys riding outside the cage.

Ritter said the driver contacted animal control officials after the video surfaced and asked if he was in any trouble. His civil citation comes with a $35 fine.

“He’s been very cooperative. He’s even agreed to a wellness check,” Ritter said. “There were no bad intentions or anything like that. He honestly just didn’t know any better … The thing is that people go hunting with their hunting dogs and they don’t know any better is honestly what it boils down to.”

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Laura Williams said deputies spoke to the owners Thursday and gave them a verbal warning. Officers will continue to investigate to determine if there was any criminal intent to decide whether they should file any animal cruelty charges. She acknowledged that transporting dogs in such a way appears to be a cultural practice tied to hog hunting, but said that practice is unsafe.

"You have to just use common sense and think about what can happen to your animals," Williams said. "So I just encourage people to keep their animals safe when transporting them."