I may have saved a dog's life

I went out for a late afternoon ride. I was heading back home on a very busy 2 lane road when I heard a woman yelling. I looked over to my left and next to the bike path was a little dog that was loose. He was wearing a leash but obviously broke away from her. And boy, was he happy! I immediately started to sprint up the road - thinking that I could somehow get him. He darted out in traffic :eek:. He was running towards the cars and they weren't stopping. I will give them the benefit of the doubt because he was tiny and maybe they didn't see him. On the other hand, it's the Washington, DC metro area and it was rush hour traffic and most likely they were in a hurry to get home. I started to motion to the drivers to slow down. They started to slow and then I motioned to the one driver to stop and fortunately he did. I cut in front of him and the little dog, who had stopped near a tree, came running over to me. I unclipped one shoe, knelt over, grabbed his leash, got off the bike and then walked over to the side of the road - while thanking the driver for stopping. The woman came running over in the snow. She was yelling, "Oh my god! Thank you...thank you!" She gave me the biggest hug and said, "I had to leave my 2-yr-old over there...he broke away...thank you!" I laughed and said, "I'm a dog owner and a kid owner :D so I understand." She gave me another hug, kept thanking me as she ran back to her child. I'm glad that I was riding by at that time and I'm glad it worked out the way it did.

You did save a dog's life. I'm impressed with your quick thinking and decisive action.

You get the Hero of the Day Award! :D

That's awesome! You definitely saved the little guy. My friend had this happen, she opened the door and her Shitzu bolted out the door after something and he ran right out in the road and got hit. So yeah, good deed and good karma for you all around. :D

It's a good Karma day for you! As a furbaby mommy I thank you, too. I definitely would have hugged you, as well. :)

and the hero of the day award goes to ...... pfunk12!

It all happened so fast so when I saw him running and bolt into oncoming traffic, I was thinking, "Don't get hit...don't get hit...please don't get hit." Forgot to mention that when I grabbed his leash and was saying things like, "Come here, baby...", he was jumping up on me, licking my face. He was so cute and so happy. And as the owner was walking away, she said, "I'm going to kill him." So he survived being hit by a car but he was going to get killed when he got home. :D She said it with a very sweet voice so I'm sure she was joking. :)

Wow pfunk. On behalf of all dogs, dog owners and former/future dog owners, THANK YOU.

Thanks, everybody. A very happy ending. The pup was happy, the owner was happy, I was happy and I think that the drivers who witnessed what happened had to be happy. :)

You are AWESOME!!!! :D:D:D:D
Sometimes we're put in the right place at the right time. Glad you were there!!!

"You do this for the least of these, you do it unto me."

And I am not particularly religious. Ok, I'm not at all religious.

Superstar!!!
Great job, P. :D

Tri Girl - That's exactly what I thought - right place at the right time...for the cutest little dog. :)

Chicken Little - Thanks...I'm not religious either but thank you :).

7 - Jones Mill Road...rush hour...people heading to the Beltway :eek:

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Originally Posted by pfunk12

7 - Jones Mill Road...rush hour...people heading to the Beltway :eek:

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:confused: Were you heading towards E/W Hwy from the N2 start? The bike path is close to the road along there, and I imagine you were on the road and she was on the path?

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Originally Posted by 7rider

:confused: Were you heading towards E/W Hwy from the N2 start? The bike path is close to the road along there, and I imagine you were on the road and she was on the path?

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Yes, I was heading home towards E-W Hwy and the woman was in a parking lot not far from a playground. The bikepath is still covered in snow so when she was running to me to get her dog, she was having difficulty getting to me. The dog ran in the traffic that was headed towards the N2 start.

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Originally Posted by pfunk12

Chicken Little - Thanks...I'm not religious either but thank you :).

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Chicken Little, I'm not even Christian much less very religious but thank you. :cool:

This is exactly what I love about cycling: you see things, you see people, interactions, smiles occur. This would have never happened without a cyclist When we walk, run, bike, hike ....

Not to hijack or steal any of your well deserved thunder but here's a local story of a dog rescued after being lost in the woods here over a month, would never have been found but for a hiker:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/pets/ci_14429504

Pfunk, not only did you save that little dog's life, but you also gave the doggy's "mom," and hopefully many of the drivers, a reason to see cyclists in a positive light. You are indeed a Good Deed Doer!

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Originally Posted by Norsegoddess

Pfunk, not only did you save that little dog's life, but you also gave the doggy's "mom," and hopefully many of the drivers, a reason to see cyclists in a positive light. You are indeed a Good Deed Doer!

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I thought about how it looked to the motorists who witnessed it. How I probably looked like a fool - sprinting like crazy, motioning like crazy and then cutting in front of an SUV (who had stopped for me). But I'm hoping that when they saw why I was acting like a fool :p and they saw how happy the dog was when I grabbed his leash, they did think positively of us cyclists.

I wish this forum had a LIKE button.

I got tears in my eyes reading that.

Karen

You are awesome! What an amazing story and it had such a happy ending. :)

Good job! My sis and I once had traffic stopped both ways trying to catch a loose stray--and one vehicle was a cop! The good karma will come back to you--and hopefully the dog owner will also pay it forward.