After work I drove to the local shopping plaza so I could rent some videos. As I was walking through the parking lot, I heard a puppy’s unhappy whine behind me, and turned to see a puppy fall head first out of the window of a car parked behind me. It was a cute little thing, probably a three month old german shepard. I called it over to me, and it came quite happily, tail wagging. I held out my hand for it to sniff, trying to decide if I dared touch it. Being a very friendly animal, it didn’t seem at all threatened by me, and followed me back to its owner’s car. Since I was very concerned that it was wandering around an extremely busy parking lot, I over came my misgivings about touching someone else’s car, and opened the door, then coaxed the puppy back into the car. Unfortunately the window was electric, so I couldn’t roll it up any, but the puppy actually “stayed” when I told it to, probably it was relieved to be back in the car after its misadventure. If I had something with me to write with, I’d have left the owner a note, but I didn’t. What would you have done in the same situation? Put the puppy back in the car, or walk away? Why?
I’ve had this happen. I stayed with the dog until the owner came back. Fortunately it didn’t take very long.
Normally, if the dog has tags with a phone number, I’ll call.
I think you did a wonderfully kind thing, elfkin. It hasn’t ever happened to me before, but I also live in Atlanta, you approach the wrong car for any reason, you could get yourself shot. I’m totally against THAT.
But, I would’ve at least put the puppy back in the car, but I don’t think I would’ve done the Devil’s Grandmother’s suggestion, but then, hey, who the heck would mess with her??? 
I would have done the same thing, who knows what could happen to a puppy in a crowded parking lot? I would feel bad if I had left it, that would be something that would bother me for a long time.
I have a story about a “good deed, I think” dog occurrence. I drove a particular route through the city often, and one house always had a large white dog out in the yard, behind a fence. one night I was coming home late, it was around 2 AM, and I saw the white dog about 10 blocks from his yard. I stopped and let him in my car and I continued down the street to his house. I get to his house, and the white dog was already in his yard! :eek: So I drove back to the spot where I had picked up the imposter white dog and dropped him back off. He had a collar, but no tags. I still feel bad about just dropping the dog off, but I hoped he lived close by and was out for an evening stroll.
Cute story, thanks for the smile tonight.
“If you can’t beat them…arrange to have them beaten.”
Gotta love that sig line AntiPro!
[Homer Simpson]
“It works on so many levels!”
[/Homer Simpson]
Let’s say you’re putting the puppy back into the car, your hand still on said puppy, your arms actually in the car, when the owner returns…Is the owner going to believe that you were putting the dog back,…or think you were helping yourself to a free dog?
In November 1995, I was driving my brand-new car (I’d owned it for one day) home in a snowstorm after dark. As I approached a four-way stop where two highways intersected in the middle of nowhere, I saw a large dog wandering on the road, weaving in and out around the cars that had stopped for the stop signs. I was scared sick that he would get hit, so I decided to see if I could catch him. When the other cars had left, I followed him into the gas station parking lot on the corner. It was impossible to see by now, and the wind was howling. (How do you call a dog when you don’t know his name?) Just when I was about to give up, he came bounding over and jumped, wet and dirty, into my brand-new backseat, happy as a clam. I drove about 8 miles to the nearest town and called the vet’s number on his tags. It turned out that he lived about 1/2 mile from where I had picked him up and had a habit of wandering. So I drove back to the intersection, where “Levi’s” owner met me. I felt a little foolish, but he was a nice dog (if a little lunkheaded) and I didn’t want him to get hit. I have a lovable lunkhead dog at home myself.
Mr. S laughed with me when I got home. I was a little worried about the freshly messy new car, but he reminded me that our own dirty dogs would have messed it up soon enough.
** {{{{{{{Zenster}}}}}}}} ** [serious hijack] You made me homesick! My oldest son loves the Simpsons, and is forever making that comment ‘It works on SO many levels, Mom!’ What a nice surprise to come online and see it in print from YOU! 
I did consider waiting with the dog, but I didn’t have any means of restaining the puppy until the owner returned, and it was in the middle of a thunder storm, so the idea of waiting while getting wet and being a target for lightening wasn’t very appealing.
I think you did the right thing, elfkin.
The only other thing that you could have done would be to wait for owner, and then drop him/her on the ground headfirst for leaving a puppy unattended in the car with the windows open far enough for that to happen.