It's too bad you couldn't get that dog- that must have been horrible to watch. I've also seen loose dogs and found that for whatever reason, they won't get close enough for you to grab them, and I never want to scare them INTO traffic. It's a tough situation- you want to help but sometimes it's impossible. If I can't get the dog, I usually call the animal shelter because that way if the dog is lost the owner has a better chance of finding them.

When I lived at my mom's house I saw tons of dogs just running around loose- people would actually just let them out, or they would escape from the yard and the their people didn't care. It's a very quiet neighborhood with very little traffic. There is a school at the end of the block so people are supposed to be driving only 20 mph, and yet I've seen 2 dogs get hit on her block!!!! I wish people would just confine their pets to their yard for safety.