On a seemingly normal night driving his route, a very astute bus driver saved a dog from being abducted. The diver’s name is Mike Thomas and he is being hailed a hero for saving a dog in need.

He was driving his route on Line 54 in Portland City Center in Oregon when the incident occurred.

It all started when he spotted something very odd in the middle of the road.

Mike saw a man walking with a yellow lab in the middle of the road.

Someone walking in the middle of the road with a dog is a bit of an odd sight in the first place, but there was more about this situation that just seemed off.

The dog did not have a leash and the man was simply holding onto them by their collar.

The man was walking towards traffic and the car in front of Mike’s bus had just swerved to avoid him. The man was acting as though this was a completely normal thing to do.

Mike slowed down the bus as he didn’t want to hit the man. That’s when he noticed some more things about the dog. The dog kept pulling away from the man, and was not acting as though this was his owner.

The man asked Mike to board the bus and the driver obliged out of concern for their safety. The man then let go of the dog as though he was going to leave it behind.

This didn’t sit well with Mike. He asked the man if the dog was his and the man responded, “Yes, but he’s OK.”

“I said, ‘No you need to get your dog, he’s in the road.’ So he called. He said ‘come here,’ but he didn’t say the dog’s name. The dog came back and he pulled the dog on by the collar.”

Something didn’t seem right about the situation.

Mike wasn’t really sure what to do. He also noticed the man wasn’t calling the dog by a name, which would later be found out to be Cooper.

The man sat down and started talking to a lady that was on the bus. Mike decided to listen in on the conversation.

The man asked the lady if she wanted to take the dog home with her.

Mike overheard this, noting that’s sort of a strange thing to ask someone else on a bus, isn’t it? That’s when Mike concluded that the man was definitely not the owner of the dog.

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

Mike could have just ignored the situation and decided it wasn’t his business or his job. That’s not the kind of guy Mike is, however. He was going to take action.

He kept an eye on the man and the dog all the way to the bus’ final destination in downtown Portland.

When the final stop hit, the man tried to exit the bus with the dog but Mike grabbed ahold of Cooper’s collar and told the man the dog would be staying with him.

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

Cooper’s owner, Jane Murphy, was vacationing in Hawaii at the time.

Her son was watching Cooper but he had either gotten out or was stolen while he was at work that night. Jane would later receive a message on her phone explaining to her that her dog had been brought home safe and sound.

“Your dog has been found. He’s on a TriMet bus. He was brought back home a little after midnight by the transit police.”

Jane was so grateful that she sent Mike a picture of her and Copper with a note that said:

“Thank you for bringing me back home to my family.”

The note continued:

“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.”

Mike’s employer was also very grateful for the extra mile he went that night. They released the following statement:

“They get thousands of people safely where they need to go every day. They provide customer service, give direction and offer assistance. And in the case of operator Mickeal “Mike” Thomas, they even rescue dogs.”

What a good guy Mike is!

Learn more about this incredible story in the video below!

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Source: The Oregonian/The Oregonian – YouTube