A man may lose his dog but never his neighbors

After two years of home ownership, I finally decided to adopt a deserving dog from the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. After visiting with some dogs I decided on Sid -- a pit bull/whippet mix.

I was worried about his first contact with my cats, so enlisted two friends to help me introduce all three animals when I got Sid home. Imagine my shock, disappointment and horror that after only about 30 seconds in the house, Sid took off past me out the back door, running past my two friends and down the alley into the maze of houses and streets that is Overbrook and Carrick.

A foot chase was fruitless. Although 7, this pent-up whippet broke full speed away from us, scared and unaware of where he was. My friends remained on foot while I ran home to get the car.

And that is when the entire neighborhood it seems mobilized! I caught up with my friends only to learn that several neighbor children were in pursuit of the dog as well, and everyone we encountered who had seen him gave a detailed account of which way he was headed. Several asked for my address in case they were able to catch him before we came back around. Dog biscuits and leashes were also offered in an attempt to make the pursuit easier!

And then the rain and hail came, making it impossible to see. We paused the search, knowing the scared dog would no doubt be hiding. But as soon as the rains ended I was back out again and finally caught up to Sid on Ariston Avenue.

Now wet and very scared, he refused to get into the car and remained determined to hide out. Two women on Ariston went searching with flashlights and enlisting their own dogs in the effort to try to lure Sid out from behind some backyard sheds.

Finally, after a lot of crawling on hands and knees and coaxing, Sid was gathered up and returned to his car and new home!

Thanks everyone -- especially those I haven't yet run into on our nightly walks, with harness and strong leash -- who helped out that terrible night!

RICKY WALTERS
Overbrook

Every day I ride the 46G bus into town, down the dreaded Route 51 corridor. The rides are usually pretty uneventful, as I read and arrive in town before I know it.

One day in June, we were cruising down Route 51 and a car was broken down in the right-hand lane, cars swerving around it. I heard the bus driver exclaim that the car was in a dangerous spot and could get smashed if traffic was moving too fast.

He stopped the bus and asked for a couple of volunteers, of which there were three great guys. Some poor young girl on her way to a job interview had broken down. I can only assume she was waiting for someone to come rescue her.

The three men and bus driver pushed her car off of the road into a parking lot, made sure she was OK, and jumped back on the bus to head into town. It took a matter of a couple minutes to do a good deed and to make the road safe for that morning's commuters.

DEBORAH CONKLIN
Whitehall

My 2-month old daughter and I ran down to Wal-Mart this morning to pick up a few items. When I got to the check-out, a woman behind us asked how old she was, commenting on how much hair she has (a lot) and how cute she was. In the process I was trying to use my debit card and had put my PIN number in wrong yet again (baby brain).

My husband and I just moved back to the Burgh from New England and I got a new debit card and PIN number. I had been using the same number for years, and for whatever reason I am constantly inverting the numbers. This time, I must have finally locked myself out of my account, and I don't carry my credit cards with me.

I asked the cashier to hold my items, and I was going to run down to the bank to get this straightened out. The woman overheard my dilemma and asked how much ($37) and then offered to pay. I told her no, I could possibly let her do that. I have money in my account, but my baby brain had gotten the best of me.

She insisted that she pay, and told me it was her "random act of kindness for the day." I tried to get her phone number so that I could pay her back. She insisted upon taking care of our bill, and told me to "pay it forward."

I am completely floored by this woman's actions. It is so awesome to see that there are still kind people in this sick and demented world. I hope that the opportunity does arise soon for me to "pay it forward."

BETH WISNIOWSKI
Mt. Lebanon

I was returning to work after being off for three months from knee surgery. I stopped at the Sunoco in Castle Shannon for my usual cup of morning coffee.

As I approached the checkout, I realized I had left my money in the car. A young gentleman said, "Here, let me get it."

I started to protest but he wouldn't hear of it. He said it's raining and you never know when I'll need a dollar from you if I'm ever in Shop 'n Save.

It just goes to show you how great the people are from Pittsburgh. So, I hope you're reading this -- kind, young man! It made my first day back on the job much easier.

GAY THOMAS
Castle Shannon