At first, I thought it was a jogger.
Someone dressed in black came running down the sidewalk on the north side of Constitution Avenue, which Senate side of the US Capitol.
But it was too fast for a jogger. There was a rush to it.
It was a female US Capitol Police officer, wearing a thick tactical vest. A radio pack and other police equipment came out from the front. Then there was the sound of shouting.
Three other Capitol Police officers then marched toward Capitol Hill, taking a knee.
The police radio started to crackle. Something was very wrong.
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Any security issues? Any terrorist threats? Any gunmen? Any bombs?
This was something else.
The dog prompted Capitol Police to sprint down a busy DC street near the Capitol (X/@smileitsnathan)
A scruffy, brown and gray terrier was climbing a hill without a leash. It kept running between cars during the evening rush hour Constitution Avenue,
A breeze of petrichor wafted across the dark pavement on this sticky June day. A sporadic rain had bathed the street, filling the air with the humidity that Washingtonians know so well during the hot months.
But by afternoon, it was going to be dog day.
The stray dog ran toward the Russell Senate Office Building. But then randomly darted across the busy street — dodging vehicles like an ’80s arcade master playing Frogger.
The dog cleverly dodged the cars. But the dog was in danger of being KO.
Then I realized the dog was coming toward me on the street toward the Capitol.
He turned on one leg and headed toward the Capitol.
I just got off the air – reporting live on Bret Baier’s show About criminal referrals for Hunter Biden and James Biden by three House committees. It was about 6:25 p.m. and I was walking to my car. I dropped my lunch pouch on the sidewalk and walked toward the street between two parked cars. I bent down, arms outstretched and hands facing the ground, like a soccer goalkeeper about to challenge a breakaway in front of the penalty area.
Things were improving. Anything would be done to get the dog off the street. Chasing the dog through the Capitol Square side of the Congress complex would be easier. The US Capitol sits atop 60 acres of lush open spaces, bushes, leafy trees, park benches and winding trails. It would be safer for the dog than walking around Constitution Avenue.
The puppy looked at me.
ZOOOOSH!
He took a sharp right turn and galloped into the gap where cars were parked on Constitution and the curb. There is a raised, concrete barrier between the curb and the grass. It was too high for the dog to get onto Capitol Square. Now he had changed his course and was running back downhill Capitol Hill,
The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. President Joe Biden has exercised executive privilege over recordings from an investigation into the handling of classified documents, escalating a fight with congressional Republicans as they plan to vote on Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. (Illison Robert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Help!” I yelled at a strange woman who was talking on her phone next to one of the parked cars. “Grab that dog!”
She looked up as he drove back into the street, crushing her beige bike.
Oh no.
By that time, several of the officers who had been pursuing on the north side of the street had now run into me on the south side near the Capitol. Fortunately, there was no traffic heading up the hill on Constitution while the dog ran down the hill. He was bouncing back and forth across the six lanes of the road as if running through agility obstacles at an American Kennel Club dog show. Madison Square Garden,
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I took advantage of the break in the cars as I climbed the hill and sped away. My blue, striped tie was hanging over my shoulder. My TV IFB cable was still connected to my earpiece and hanging on my back from the live shot.
“Stop the traffic!” I shouted to the police officers following behind.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw a few cars slowly crawling down the hill into the westbound lanes. The drivers obviously noticed the commotion, and saw a contingent of uniformed officers running across the road.
Now the dog was heading toward the north side of the hill, toward the lower end of Russell Senate Park and the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon.
The exhausted and scared terrier took refuge under a car parked on the north side of the street. Someone must have called over the radio to stop traffic because there was no traffic coming toward us on the far street. I could see a wave of traffic at the foot of Capitol Hill, heading back toward the Department of Labor. An officer posted at the corner of Constitution and 1st St., NW, stood in the middle of the street, stopping cars.
The US Capitol Police are tasked with protecting the grounds around the Capitol (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
I go to the back of the car and kneel down. The dog is still there. One of the officers slides down to the ground from the driver’s side and looks under the car.
But this only saved our prey. The dog ran away because there were only two of us around the car. There was no way to catch him or grab his leg or collar.
He went again, little legs running like tiny pistons, climbing back up the hill and down the street toward the Capitol. The dog crossed lanes like a frantic commuter on the Beltway. Luckily, there was no more traffic. So the street was clear enough for the dog to run and slip under a gunmetal-colored Toyota sedan with Maryland tags parked behind a maroon Acura SUV.
Four officers approach the vehicle from the grassy hill off Capitol Square. The other three run down the hill, including the original officer in the tactical vest. Two officers approach the car from the south side of the street and join me. Two Senate aides are now involved. One is wearing a long skirt and the other is wearing a tie so orange it resembles the colors of the 1970s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His white, oxford dress shirt is now peeking out above his belt, apparently because of his part in the poaching.
Nearly everyone drops on their stomachs, reaches out to grab the little guy from underneath the car, runs around. This time it will be harder for him to escape. Every corner of the vehicle is now covered. Two officers on the road stand a few feet back, hands on their knees like a third baseman guarding the foul line. They are ready for backup – ready to catch him if he somehow escapes again.
The US Senate chamber in Washington, DC on Thursday, April 7, 2022 (Senate Television via AP)
I lie on the ground, my right arm extended under the driver’s seat. I can smell the fresh rain on the slick pavement. An officer in the passenger seat somehow manages to hold on to the collar. But the puppy wriggles out of it. I yank him from my side, trying to push him to the side. Eventually a mustachioed officer in a U.S. Capitol Police ballcap manages to get the dog out from under the car on the side.
“F—!” yells the officer, who is bitten almost immediately by the frightened dog.
No good deed ever goes unpunished.
“F—!” the officer yells again, grimacing.
He unceremoniously hands the dog over to another uniformed officer and inspects his right hand.
The officer gives the dog to the man, who was a civilian officer wearing shorts and a scarf. He hugs the dog to his chest and caresses it. The dog begins to calm down.
Unfortunately, there was no tag on the collar. But there was a report of a dog missing in the area. It is believed to have a microchip attached to its neck for identification purposes.
Everyone is smiling. But breathing is labored. Beads of sweat are shining and sliding down cheekbones. It was four minutes of intense, aerobic pursuit. Given all the changes in direction, it’s a wonder someone didn’t twist an ankle or tear an ACL. The officer in the tactical vest is smiling now. Laughing, even.
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The search is over. The dog is safe. Officers have reopened Constitution Avenue to traffic. Senator Tom CottonR-Ark was riding in one of the stopped vehicles and was yelling something out the window as he witnessed the entire incident.
Harry Truman said, “If you want friends in Washington, get a dog.”
Dogs are perhaps man’s best friend. And if you’re a dog in Washington, your best friends are probably the US Capitol Police.
