Dog Takes Car for a Ride, Hits Street Sign

This week in the Westlake Police blotters:

Yes, this really happened. Chauncey the dog took his master’s 1997 Mercury four door for a short joyride the morning of Aug. 6. The car was parked (running and unoccupied by humans) at a Detroit Road gas station when the cruising canine knocked the shifter into reverse. 

The vehicle backed out of the station southbound, missing the pumps and parked cars, maneuvered a u-turn in traffic, struck a street sign on the north side of the roadway, and came to rest on a stump.  

Also in the blotters: $$$ bike stolen, recovered

A $1200 mountain bike was reported stolen from a Center Ridge Road man’s apartment laundry building between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4. Interestingly, it was recovered on July 21 on Canterbury Road. The bike was returned to its owner with a caution to keep it locked to something.