Henry the Co-Pilot

Henry, the Labrador Retriever, loves to go for car rides, especially when the weather is perfect — not too cold, not too hot, but when the temperatures are just right. But one nice winter day, while the windows were down and the car was parked, Henry decided the weather was too nice and he bolted out of the window!

“Henry runs all [of my] errands with me and I always open the window far enough for him to put his head out when I go in somewhere,” said Valerie, Henry’s owner. “Henry is extremely easy going and friendly…I often come out from a store to find strangers loving him up [with] his head out the car window!”

But this time was different because Henry couldn’t see where Valerie went.

“He watches me like a hawk [whenever I go into a building] but this time I had gone around the corner into a bank so he couldn’t see what building I was in,” said Valerie.

Usually a well-behaved co-pilot, Henry started to panic when he couldn’t locate his owner and decided to jump right out of the window! Minutes later when she returned, she was distraught — her car was there, but Henry, was not.

Thankfully after only a few minutes of panicking, Valerie’s phone rang and AKC Reunite was on the other end with the good news!

“A kind woman named June had picked him up and immediately taken him to the vet to check for a chip,” said Valerie. “I don’t know how long he was loose, but I think I had him back within a half hour. AKC Reunite called, texted, and emailed me — [they] covered all bases. I was so impressed and SO thankful!”

Henry is still Valerie’s co-pilot when the weather is nice, but now she makes sure to park in sight of her companion, just in case he decides to take off again!