Posted on 10/06/2012 9:39:06 AM PDT by Altariel
Star did exactly what you're supposed to do when you get lost. She found a police officer.
It was about midnight. D.C. police Sgt. James Black was stopped at a red light at 42nd Street and Benning Road NE, when suddenly a dog leapt through the open window of his unmarked cruiser.
The dark-colored female pit bull jumped on his lap -- and began licking his face.
"I went from being startled to laughing," said Black, who has spent 15 years on the force.
Scott Giacoppo, vice president of the Washington Humane Society, said he's never heard of a dog jumping into a police car for help. But "sometimes a dog senses when there are people who can help them," he said. "It's a sixth sense."
The dog was fortunate to find an officer it could trust, Giacoppo said. Another officer could have panicked and the situation could have ended much differently.
"She just happened to jump in the right car at the right time. She's very lucky," Giacoppo said.
The dog had a pink collar but no identification, so Black drove to a nearby 6th District police station with the pit bull still perched on his lap, her head sticking out the window.
At the station, officers gave her some water and food until animal control could take her.
The pit bull was taken by the Washington Human Society, which gave her the name Star.
She's still looking for a home. Star is described as a high-energy, athletic young adult pit bull terrier, between 1 and 2 years old. Star needs someone who can give her a lot of exercise and attention, Giacoppo said.
Anyone interested in adopting Star can go to washhumane.org or call 202-576-6664.
She had already been taught to jump through a car window, or a similar opening.
Dogs quickly associate an activity, sight, or sound with a reward. They will happily do it over and over.
Thank you very, very much for posting this story. An officer/dog encounter that didn’t leave me feeling sick...thank you very much.
A dog like that won’t be waiting long to receive happy new owners, especially with this story.
Awwww......
Doggie ping.
DC isn’t far from Philly. Isn’t there an NFL quarterback there who is fond of Pit-bulls?
Paging chet99
Doggie ping!
Nice doggie story. She sounds like a smart little dog.. She’s pretty too.
What a little sweetie! Thanks for posting this!
Ah those fun loving playful pit bulls.
My older dog, who’s now about 6 and a half, is half Pit and half Black Lab. He’s the friendliest dog in the world. In addition, he’s most self-cofident and self-assertive dog that I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned a total of 6. Now my older dog spends much of the day wrestling with my younger one, who’s a year and 2/3 old, very energetic Great Dane. The Pitador totally dominates the Dane and they’re the world’s best friends.
OMG!! She has the same markings and color scheme as my Pitador.
It used to be MAN BITES DOG! is news. Now it’s COP DOES NOT SHOT DOG! -same reason.
What a sweet face!!
Try an Elk Hound, throw them out into a snow bank on a tether and they don’t want to come in. The down side is you can stuff a mattress when they shed.
Or make a sweater out of the hair. :-)
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