“Thor, now back home, safe and sound”

“Dear PoPville,

Early yesterday afternoon [Thursday] I was walking my four dogs around Cap Hill near Lincoln Park when the leash unclasped out of the blue and my Chihuahua mix, Thor, ran off.

After taking off at full speed into East Capitol Street at the park he was hit by a car and caused me, and probably everyone watching in horror, a great deal of panic. It looked just awful, and he immediately dashed off from the street and out of sight.

Amazingly, he ended up running all the way home (a few blocks from the park; to our house where we have only been a few weeks!)

Since he ran off, no one at the scene knew the outcome of the situation and I didn’t get a chance to properly thank the incredibly kind biker that held on to my other three dogs while I desperately chased Thor. I also hope the poor driver of the car somehow gets the word that the dog is ok, and miraculously suffered no injuries (other than some slightly scraped paws).

My most sincere thanks to everyone who tried to herd the dog out of the street and especially to the amazing guy on the bike! I was scared out of my mind and I don’t know what I would have done without the assistance of these kind strangers.

I have ordered some secure screw-clasp leashes and will be reinforcing the “come” command about a hundred times a day from now on.