No good deed goes unpunished....

OK, that may be a bit extreme but I have to share what happened to me today.



I was driving a very janky rental car down congested 4 lane road on my way home from a work trip to Detroit. I approached an intersection that included on ramps to a freeway. As I drove through the light at the intersection, a few yards ahead a big black dog still attached to its leash ran out into the road then onto the grassy area next to the on ramp, heading toward the freeway entrance.


As a dog owner, I felt compelled to stop and try to help the dog. Let me remind you, it was a highly traveled, congested road and I was the only person who bothered to stop. I chased the dog up the grassy knoll and once I got its attention it ran toward me. However, it had run so far it was behind a fence with nothing between it and a major freeway but some grass. I ran and called it until it came back my way. This dog was CRAZY!! It would come close to me then dart off, but at least I had lured it into a parking lot adjacent to the grassy knoll. I am sitting there wondering how I am going to grab this dog when a car pulled up. It is the owner of the dog!


As soon as she got out of the car the dog ran to her. I told her I got the dog's attention and stopped it from running onto the freeway on ramp. She just looked at me and said, "Yeah, I was in the bank and some guy told me my dog got loose from the car." And then, she and the dog got in her car and drove away. I stood there stunned.


No "thank you", no "oh, that was nice of you to stop" - NOTHING. Really? I mean, I just saved your freaking dog!


I didn't do it to be thanked, I did it to save the dog from certain death. It isn't the dog's fault its owner is apparently an a**hole. Seriously? I am a little angry. If the roles were reversed I would have thanked that woman profusely.


Am I right to be a little po'ed? What would you do in this situation? Would you have stopped? Would you have said something to the woman like I wanted to?


These days I can't help but be a little cynical - I am starting to feel like the number of people out there in the world who put themselves first no matter what, who won't help a friend in need let alone a stranger in need, outnumber those of us who dare to care about our friends and neighbors. Times are tough. Unemployment lines growing, people losing their homes, people going bankrupt, losing their life savings - we need to be kind to one another and help one another when we can! In a world of rising gas prices and falling stock prices, kindness is free!


I know I can be a total b**tch sometimes....yes I like to gossip sometimes (ok, often) and yes I can be unkind (like when I roll my eyes at people in the airport) but, you know what, I care about giving back - to friends, strangers, my sorority, my community... so people, sometimes when I come off as a b**tch, just remember way deep down in there is a girl who will chase a big dog down the grassy knoll next to a freeway enterance and even though I am not happy with the reaction of the dog's owner I would do it all over again.