Public bus drivers work hard every day making sure people reach their destination. Timing and safety are the number one priority. But on this day, saving a dog from being dog-napped was this driver’s priority.

Trimet bus driver Mike Thomas was driving the #54 bus on his way to downtown Portland, Oregon. Along Capitol Highway, he came across a man holding a dog by the collar, while standing in the middle of the road. The car in front of the bus veered away from the two, nearly striking them.

Thomas put the bus hazard lights on and stopped for the safety of the pair. He asked the man to board the bus.

The man started to board while leaving the dog in the street.

“I asked him, ‘Is that your dog?’ ” Thomas said. “He said, ‘Yes, but he’s OK.’ I said, ‘No, you need to get your dog, he’s in the road.’ “

Now under normal circumstances, TriMet requires pets to be in a carrier and service dogs to be on a leash. But in this case, Thomas made a judgment call that he believed was the safest option.

The man called the dog over, but Thomas realized he didn’t use the dog’s name. Then he grabbed the pooch by the collar to force the dog aboard the bus. The driver knew the situation was strange, so he kept a close eye.

Thomas allowed the situation to continue on. The man sat down next to a woman and started to talk to her. He offered the woman the opportunity to take the dog home herself. This caught the driver’s ear and he knew he was gonna have to stop this from going any further.

“Things didn’t fit together so I let him know that I just wasn’t buying it.”

This was not the man’s dog. This dog was stolen or found, but did not belong to this guy. So Thomas phoned the transit police to meet at a stop, which was still nearly an hour away.

The driver kept on eye on the dog (who’s name is Cooper) during the rest of the trip.

“He was very well behaved,” Thomas said. “Most of the time, he just had a tennis ball in his mouth, and he sat and just kind of watched everything going on and seemed like a really happy dog.”

When they finally arrived at the destination, the man tried to exit the bus with Cooper.

“I grabbed Cooper’s collar and said the dog’s gonna stay with me. I would be getting him back to his family.”

The dog’s owner Jane Murphy had been vacationing in Hawaii while this happened. Her son was watching the dog while she was gone. He was working late, only to arrive home and was unable to find Cooper anywhere. Jane had just learned from her son that the dog was missing.

A TriMet dispatcher called the number listed on the collar and informed Jane that her dog was found and safe.

“They said your dog has been found, he’s on a TriMet bus,” she said.

Jane wanted to thank Mike for his awareness and the return of their dog. She sent him a picture of Cooper and wrote: “Thank you for bringing me back home to my family.”

Jane was so thankful.

“It brings great pride that there are some really good people in this world. Who are willing to go out that extra mile for our four-legged animals.”

See how lovable Cooper is by watching the full video below

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Source: The Oregonian