What can you do when a long, large brown dog is running in traffic and the authorities are nowhere to be found?

I was driving home on the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road on Dec. 2 at around 2:45 p.m. and saw the dog running in the opposite direction on the right. When he crossed over to the left in front of oncoming cars, I turned around and put my flashers on, hoping to slow down traffic. The dog looked desperate. He was running and running without pause, ignoring everything around him.

A girl up on the right had gotten out of her car and was calling to the dog. Another man in a truck had stopped. I picked up the girl, swerved in front of the dog and asked her to jump out and try to get him. Seemingly terrified, he turned around and began running in the opposite direction, toward Edgartown.

This is when we decided to call for help. The dog was seconds from being run over and wasn’t responding to humans at all.

We called #1212. We told the lady who answered our situation. The lady said there was no one there. Could someone help us when they got in? Probably not. Could you give us the number for Vineyard Haven animal control? No, they’re not there. The number for Oak Bluffs animal control? No, they’re not there, either.

Do you know of anyone that can help us? Maybe I can tell someone when they come in, but I don’t think that anything will get done.

Today, we’re not sure if the dog is okay. While we were on the phone and slowly following him, he had turned up a lane (a lane he had previously passed) and started barking at a back door. Meanwhile, the truck driver had connected with the dog’s owner and we all directed him to what was apparently the owner’s last home. We hoped the dog was still there waiting for someone to open the door.

Next time, who do we call?

Genevieve H. Abbot
Oak Bluffs