It's understood the dog was dead before the woman's several hundred metre journey along Te Mata Rd towards Durham Dr in Havelock North on Friday morning came to a stop.
A road worker spoken to by Hawke's Bay Today said he flagged down the car and delivered the news that one of her small "fluffy" dogs had been caught by its lead in the boot.
"She must've closed the boot and the dog has just jumped out as she's done that and got caught by the lead," the road worker said.
Another almost identical breed of small fluffy dog was sitting in the back seat of the woman's car while she was driving, the roadworker said.
"Poor lady is all you can say really.
"She was bawling her eyes out."
A police spokeswoman said the driver did not appear to know the dog was there.
Before police could locate the vehicle it had been stopped by stop-go workers and the dog had been driven off to a nearby vet.
Nearby vet AnimalCare declined to comment, citing privacy.
The speed limit on Te Mata Rd starts at 80 kilometres an hour before dropping to 50km/h.
