Soccer Dad

Wagging his tail behind him

We have a citizen's patrol in our part of town, the Northwest Citizen's Patrol. I am a volunteer and ride once every seven weeks. For the most part the patrols are a preventative measure, designed to deter crime. The best nights are the quiet nights.

This past summer and fall when there was a rash of burglaries the patrol was unofficially extended. On the night I went out on the extended patrol, one of the patrollers identified one of the suspects who was then arrested by police. Another time I went out there was a mugging in our area. But we didn't catch up with the mugger and call it in. (We are armed with radios and not authorized to leave our cars.)

Usually patrols aren't so interesting. The big things I remember is noticing that someone left his/her car door open with the groceries on the sidewalk or calling in a dome light that's still on.

Last night about 9:20 a call came in for a dog that ran away, with its leash still on. No patroller found the dog, but about 20 minutes later a call came in that a lady had found the dog and really wanted to return it. So one of the patrollers volunteered to return the dog. The finders' and losers' addresses were broadcast and Unit 3/4 collected the dog and returned him.

Sometimes the best patrols are the ones when something happens. If that something is good.

Technorati tags: nwcp, citizens/' patrol, lost dog.