At first I thought it was a jogger.
Someone dressed in black ran up the sidewalk on the north side of Constitution Avenue, directly across from the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol.
But I was going too fast to jog. There was an urgency.
This was a female Capitol Police officer, wearing a thick tactical vest, with a radio pack and other police gear sprouting from the front, and she was screaming.
Three other Capitol Police officers then charged into the Capitol, knees trembling.
The police radio crackled. Something was terribly wrong.
Woman discovers her dog alive and up for adoption after ‘euthanizing’ it
Is it a security issue? A terrorist threat? A person with a gun? A bomb?
It was something else.
Dog leads Capitol Police across busy DC Boulevard near Capitol building at high speed (X/@smileitsnathan)
A shaggy, brown-and-gray terrier sprinted off-leash up the hill, darting between cars on Constitution Avenue during the afternoon rush hour.
On this muggy June day, the dark sidewalks smelled of petrichor, a rain shower had soaked the streets, and the air was filled with the kind of humidity that Washington residents know well during warmer months.
But it was going to be a scorching hot afternoon.
The loose dog darted toward Senator Russell’s office building, but then hopped haphazardly across the busy road, dodging vehicles like an ’80s arcade game master playing Frogger.
The dog skillfully avoided the car, but was in danger of being knocked out.
Then I noticed the mutt coming toward me from the street on the Capitol side.
He made a sharp turn and ran toward the Capitol.
Lost dog rescued after being stranded in the middle of the highway for 18 hours – owner was ‘panicked’
I had just come off the air, live on Bret Baier’s show about the criminal referrals to Hunter Biden and James Biden by three House committees. At approximately 6:25 p.m., I was walking to my car. I put my lunch pouch on the sidewalk and walked slowly toward the road between two parked cars. I crouched down, arms outstretched, hands down toward the ground, like a soccer goalkeeper about to challenge a breakaway in front of the penalty area.
Things are getting better. I would do anything to get my dog off the road. It would be much easier to chase him on the Capitol Square side of the Capitol. The Capitol sits on 60 acres of lush open space, bushes, foliage, and park benches, with winding sidewalks that add to its charm. It would be safer here than letting your dog run around on Constitution Avenue.
The puppy found me.
Zzzzz!
He made a sharp right turn and ran into a ditch between a parking space and the curb on Constitution Avenue. A raised concrete fence stood between the curb and the grass. The fence was too high for the dog to reach Capitol Square. He now reversed course and was running down Capitol Hill.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, Thursday, May 16, 2024. President Joe Biden has invoked executive privilege over audio recordings of a classified dossier investigation, escalating a fight with Republican lawmakers who plan to vote Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. (Rison Robert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Help!” I yelled at a careless woman talking on her cell phone next to a parked car. “Get that dog!”
She looked up as he stepped over her beige mules and hurried back down the street.
Oh my goodness.
At that point, several officers who had joined the pursuit on the north side of the street ran with me to the south side, near the Capitol. Luckily, no cars were coming up the hill on Constitution Avenue while the dog sprinted down the hill. The dog weaved back and forth across the six-lane road like he was darting through agility obstacles at the American Kennel Club dog show at Madison Square Garden.
Dog rescued after being chased off ‘perilous cliff’ by raccoon: Video
I took advantage of a gap in the traffic coming up the hill and sprinted out, my blue striped tie flying around my shoulders, the TV’s IFB cable still connected to my earphones and dangling down my back from the live feed.
“Stop the traffic!” I yelled at the police officers chasing me.
Peering over my shoulder, I saw several cars moving slowly down the hill in the westbound lanes. Their drivers were clearly aware of the commotion, and I noticed a group of uniformed police officers driving down the street.
Now the dogs were streaming up the north side of the hill, toward the lower end of Russell Senate Park and the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon.
Exhausted and frightened, the terrier took refuge under a car parked on the north side of the street. Someone must have radioed to request a traffic stop, because there were no cars coming toward us in the other lane. I saw a wave of cars gathering at the base of Capitol Hill, backing up toward the Department of Labor. At the corner of Constitution and 1st Streets, NW, a gardaí stood in the middle of the road, their cars parked.
The U.S. Capitol Police are tasked with providing security around the Capitol building. (Joe Raedl/Getty Images)
I went to the back of the car and got down on my knees, the dog was there, and one of the officers slid next to the driver’s seat and crouched on the ground and looked under the car.
But that didn’t stop our prey from escaping. There were only two of us around the car, and the dog ran away. We couldn’t catch it, or get hold of its legs or collar.
And off he goes again, his tiny legs pumping like miniature pistons, sprinting up the hill and toward the Capitol side of the street, weaving between lanes like a mad commuter on a beltway. Luckily, traffic is light now, so the road is clear for the dog to take off, and he manages to slip under a gunmetal Toyota sedan with Maryland plates parked behind a maroon Acura SUV.
Four officers came charging toward the car from the grassy knoll at Capitol Square. Three more ran down the hill, including the first officer wearing a tactical vest. Two officers, including me, approached the car from the south side of the street. Two senator aides were involved; one was wearing a long skirt and the other an orange tie resembling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ colors from the 1970s. His white oxford dress shirt was spilling out over his belt, apparently from the chase.
Nearly everyone is on their stomachs, reaching under the car to grab the tiny, struggling dog. It won’t get away this time; every inch of the car is covered. Two police officers are on the street, standing a few feet behind with their hands on their knees like third basemen guarding the foul line. They’re backup, ready to grab the dog if it escapes again.
U.S. Senate Chambers in Washington, DC, Thursday, April 7, 2022 (Senate TV via The Associated Press)
I’m on the ground, my right arm stretched out under the driver’s seat. I can smell the rain coming down from the oily pavement. The officer in the passenger seat manages to grab the collar, but the puppy escapes. I nudge him from the side, trying to steer him toward the curb. Finally, a mustachioed officer wearing a Capitol Police baseball cap manages to pull the dog out from under the car at the curb.
“Dammit!” the officer cried, only to be bitten by the petrified dog in no time.
Good deeds always go unpunished.
“Damn it!” the officer yelled again, grimacing.
He casually hands the dog over to another uniformed officer and examines his right hand.
The officer then handed the panting puppy over to what appeared to be a plainclothes officer who had arrived on the scene wearing shorts and a bandana, and pulled the dog to his chest and held it. The dog began to calm down.
Unfortunately there was no tag on the collar, but dogs had been reported missing in the area and we suspect the dog had a microchip implanted in its neck for identification purposes.
They’re all smiling. But out of breath. Beads of sweat glisten and run down their cheekbones. It’s been four minutes of intense aerobic pursuit. With so many changes of direction, it’s a wonder no one has twisted an ankle or torn anterior cruciate ligament. The officers in tactical vests are smiling now. Laughing.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The search was over. The dog was safe. Officers reopened Constitution Avenue. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) was in one of the stranded cars, and yelled something out the window as he witnessed the whole thing.
Harry Truman famously said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”
Dogs may be man’s best friend, and if you’re a dog in Washington, your best friends are probably the U.S. Capitol Police.
