I almost had a new dog. I was driving down a county road and there was a dog in the middle of the road. I had to stop and the truck behind me stopped. We both honked and tried to get the attention of the farm we were near, but no one came out. The dog just stood in the road and wouldn't do anything, so I got out and he ran up and wanted me to pick him up. He was a jack russell terrier and very friendly. I got in my car and drove into the farm lane. It took awhile, but finally someone came out. She said it wasn't their dog and she had never seen it before. She did mention the family down the road had a couple small dogs, but they didn't look like this one.
She also told me that this is a road where a lot of people just put dogs out and drive away. She guessed that's what happened. The dog was very very friendly, looked very healthy and well taken care of. He had no collar, but I knew he was someone's pet. I drove into town but couldn't even find a convenience store or anywhere to ask if anyone recognized the dog. I was about 70 miles from Sioux City, so I didn't really want to bring him home where no owners would be looking for him.
So I went back to the other farm and drove into the lane. It was a very well kept farm, with chickens, cattle and the two dogs in the front yard. When I rolled my window down, the dog, who up until this time had to be on my lap and didn't want to be away from me, jumped out the window and ran over to the other two dogs. They seemed to know each other or at least didn't act like he was a stranger. I sat in the car a bit and the dog went over and sat in front of the garage door. I honked the horn and tried to get someone's attention but didn't find anyone. So, I left. I'm not sure the dog lives there, but it's very near to where I found him, so if he is lost, his owners would probably look there and he seemed to know the place.
I still feel a bit funny about leaving him there, but in my gut I think it was the right thing. I got him out of the road. He acted like he was somewhere familiar and he's in a place where his owners could look for him and find him.