Morning commute

The shortest way for me to get to work is Consaul Road in Colonie. Locals know it's a curvy, 30MPH drive, but for me it's the most direct route.

For most of the year, it doesn't work because of school bus traffic. So I stick to Central Ave, a slightly less-direct route, but an easier drive.

But lately, someone (Verizon, Time Warner, or National Grid) has had the road down to one lane during rush hour. You know, that being the most logical time disrupt traffic.

So today, I thought I'd outsmart them, and go the other way. No school buses and no road work. I should be golden!

Nope.

I was less than 1/4 mile into my trip when I had to apply my brakes. We were slowed...then we were stopped. I could see a car with its hazards flashing, leading the parade. What I couldn't figure out was - why?

Then I saw. The lead car was being paced - by a dog running down the middle of the road. The driver was keeping his distance, probably hoping the dog would move to the side.

Eventually, cars coming from the other direction had to slow down. Then people started pulling off to the side of the road. A couple people got out of their cars to try and help. At this point, I was stopped, but not close enough to see much.

Then the dog changed directions, and ran back the way he came. When he passed my car I could see his hind-quarters were shaved, probably from recent surgery.

The man chasing him on foot looked determined. I'm not sure if he was the owner, or a friend, or just an animal-lover.

The dog moved off to the side of the road, out of harms way. I had to get moving, since I was in the middle of traffic, but I like to think the man was able to catch up to the fugitive and comfort him back to safety.

In the grand scheme of things, being on time for work really isn't that important.