How to lose a dog in ten days

[QuickSilver]

I saw something pretty shocking today. One end of the Golden Gate Park abutts a beach. The beach is across a four lane highway, but this particular spot is controlled by a stop light.

I was walking Thor across the street from the park to the beach, when I saw a black lab run directly into traffic. It got most of the way across the street, but some honking horns convinced it to run back.

When I got across the street, I saw the same dog running around the parking lot, jumping up at car windows, clearly looking for its owner. I tried to find some beach police, but I couldn't see any.

I was kind of worried about the dog, so I circled back to where I'd originally seen it. It was across the street, running in the park! And while I was walking, it ran BACK into oncoming traffic, this time coming within inches of getting hit. As if that wasn't bad enough, all the cars suddenly stopping nearly caused an accident. I went over and tried to grab its collar, but it took off running again.

I decided to call Animal Control and tell them there was a dog running loose. I couldn't see the dog anymore, so Thor and I started walking down the beach. Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, we came upon a black lab playing in the ocean with its family. This dog had a scar on its thigh, so I was positive it was the same dog.

Anyway, I told the owners that their dog had almost died, and they were horrified, and admitted that she had disappeared for about thirty minutes. The beach has a very wide sandy area, and this poor girl had run about 1/4 of a mile to get to the park without her owners knowing!

There's no moral to the story, since I know no one here would let their dog roam unsupervised like that. It was crazy that she was running into traffic and her owners had no idea! My mind is still boggling.

[katelin]

Wow. I'm familiar with the area.... that is a busy highway. Glad that the dog was reunited with his family and safe, at least for now. Yikes!

[lucyaboo]

I hope they were REALLY afraid! I can't believe they let him run off & they had no idea where he was - that's dumb!! Wouldn't you go looking for your dog if you couldn't see him?? Unbelievable!!

[rayray08]

I was just in San Francisco and thinking of all the cars that are ALWAYS around and a black lab running in traffic scares me!

How horrible! I can't believe the owners weren't watching their dog more carefully.

I'm glad you told them something, hopefully they change their habits with watching him/her.

[Jakey123]

I used to live in SF, and every time we visit, well... I'm truly amazed that dog is alive. Those owners have no idea how lucky their dog is.

[mscat]

I use to also live in the Bay area... one of my favorite things to do was to take the Bart train and go to Ocean beach when my son was little. Yes, it is very busy with all the traffic on the highway It is amazing that the poor dog was not run over! Thankfully he made it back to his family! I hope they learned a important lesson!