So last week I'm leaving the neighborhood and as I'm driving down the street I see ahead of me a child and a dog. The child was maybe 3 years old and he's walking in the gutter, actually weaving up on the curb then back into the gutter then out in the road a bit. The very large German Shepard following him is sniffing along the child's back trail about 3 feet behind him. From maybe three houses away still, I'm scanning the area for a parent or adult or anyone who is supposed to be watching the child, but perhaps whose attention has lapsed. There is no one in sight anywhere.
Suddenly the child looks up from his ruminating and sees my van. He steps into the street in front of my vehicle and puts both hands up, palms out as if to stop me. Believe me when I say that I had already slowed to a crawl and stop I did!
I park the van right in the middle of the road. Thinking I should pull to the curb but I'm afraid to move the car with the child and dog so close and not knowing what this little guy is going to do next.
There is a considerable moment of apprehension as I start to open my door and seriously wonder about that big dog. As there is still no one else in sight, I go ahead and ease the door open and climb out.
"What are you doing buddy?" I say. Not too loudly so as not to startle the dog. "Where's your mom?"
As I walk around to the front of my car he runs toward me (and so does the dog) and puts his arms up to be picked up. I pick him up and he snuggles in and puts his head on my shoulder. The dog, who is wearing a three-inch-wide leather collar that says 'Izzy' on it, also jumps up on me with a lolling smile on its face.
"Where's your mom honey?"
"Ober der." he says vaguely waving his arms toward an empty lot across the street.
There is still no one else in sight and now that I have the little guy and I don't know what to do with him. I'd like to pull my car to the curb, but I'd have to get both boy and dog into the van for safety before I move it. Then what?! I do not know where to even begin with this. Get him in the car and start driving the streets looking for distraught parents? Is he supposed to be napping and has sneaked out? If so, how long before someone notices he's missing? Do I just start knocking on all the doors along his back trail? In the direction that the child pointed there are two empty lots before the nearest house and that's not the direction he was coming from. I am at a complete loss. Do I just start shouting as loud as I can that I've found someone's child? He couldn't have come far, if he'd been walking for any length of time, someone else would have found him by now. Assuming that he came from nearby though, really does not clarify my options for me.
I say to the little guy, lets put you in the car with Izzy so we can move the car.
"NO!" he says forcefully to me and starts to struggle away from me.
"Ok, ok, no car. Just sit here." I say, placing him on the driver's seat. He squirms a bit at that but decides to trust me that far. I reach into the car, grab my phone, and call a neighbor.
"Hey Caroline, I found a child in the street and now I don't know what to do"
"WHAT!!"
"I'm out here on the street, down the block from your place. I found a small child walking the street and there is no caretaker in sight."
"I'm coming.... " she says, hanging up.
A little while later, Caroline comes running out of her house and is dialing 911 on her phone as she comes down the street.
Meanwhile, a FedEx van has come down the street and the driver is looking at me like I'm nuts because he has to drive around my van while I hold onto a child and a dog to make room for him to get by.
The little guy is jabbering at me and putting his arms out to be picked up again. I walk him and Izzy over to the curb where I figure I can hang on to them and Caroline can get my car out of the street.
I can see that Caroline has stopped on her front lawn while she talks to the 911 operator.
Suddenly I hear a blood-curdling scream from down the street and from out of a house come a clearly hysterical couple. The man is yelling "Rylan! Rylan!"
I shout over to them "He's right here! He's ok, he's right here."
The man comes running over and then immediately doubles over, hands on knees, breathing hard. "Oh my god. Oh my god!"
Now I'm worried this guy is going to have a heart attack. "It's ok, he's fine. It's totally all right. Oh, I assume Izzy is your dog?"
"Yes, she goes everywhere he does. Oh my god. We just moved in, we had no idea he could open the doors. We will be installing latches on all the doors!"
I shout over to Caroline, "Caroline, it's ok! We've found his parents!"
"Grandparents." Says the man. "We're his grandparents."
Well, that explains why he didn't know where his mom was.
"It's ok, he's fine and Izzy was taking care of him." Well, sort of, it would have been helpful if she'd kept him out of the street. But at least she stayed with him. "And if it makes you feel any better he absolutely refused to get into my car."
Grandma has stayed over on their front lawn, and she's clearly crying. This had scared everyone!!
I set Rylan down and he hides behind my legs. "Come on over here son," says grandpa. Rylan heads over and grandpa picks him up. "I am so sorry, great first impression to the neighbors. We just moved in a week ago."
"No worries, these things happen. And Rylan is a real sweety... so is Izzy. Not gonna lie, I was a little worried about Izzy's temperament."
"Oh, she's a gentle giant and she really keeps an eye out for Rylan. Well, thanks for hanging on to him for us."
"No worries, and welcome to the neighborhood!"
Those poor people, I've not seen them out of their house since.
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