Dog Who Takes Matters Into Her Own Paws Is Saved by a Good Samaritan

Karen Sortito of Hollywood was cruising down Little Santa Monica Boulevard on Friday morning when one of her Shiba Inu dogs hit the power window button in the back seat and leaped into traffic.

Sortito didn’t realize this until a woman drove up next to her signaling frantically. “I thought she was telling me what a beautiful day it was,” Sortito said. “But then I noticed she was screaming, ‘Your dog! Your dog!’ Next thing I know she had gotten out of her own car, run into the traffic after my dog and brought her back to me.”

Then, just as quickly, the good Samaritan sped away. “I didn’t even get this wonderful person’s name,” Sortito said. “I was yelling, ‘Thank you! Thank you! Bad dog! Bad dog!’ But it’s just nice to know there are people out there like her.”

Concluded Sortito: “I’ve learned my lesson. My dogs are going to be in seat belts from now on.”

The fugitive pooch’s name, by the way, is Carmela. “I named her after Tony’s wife [in TV’s ‘The Sopranos’],” Sortito said. “She’s just like Carmela: feisty.”

Businesses that catch the eye: Ray Paul Klimek of Sherman Oaks found a sign that would appeal to anyone doing any soul--or sole--searching, while Thomas Sroczynski of Torrance came upon a company in New Jersey with specially prepared vehicle parts (see photos).

College daze: At Cal State Long Beach, T.R. Conn found a signpost that left him in a state of confusion (see photo).

Still pecking away: The Freeway Chicken population in L.A. seemed to peak a quarter-century or so ago when two tribes lived a few offramps apart in Hollywood. One colony began after a poultry truck crash. The other was apparently related to pets set free in the area.

I’ve always considered the chickens one of the great Hollywood survival stories. But it’s been awhile since I’ve heard of any sightings there.

But they haven’t vanished from the Southland. Last year, reader Kathy January saw a motorist tossing breakfast to a couple of chickens on the San Bernardino Freeway in the East L.A. area.

And now Denise Skaggs of Long Beach writes that she has spotted a rooster that lives on the transition ramp from the San Gabriel to the Santa Ana Freeway in Downey. “He is there every day, patrolling his little patch of green,” she said.

Waiting perhaps for a lift to East L.A.

Picture this: “I noticed a headline that read, ‘Hahn to Seek U.S. Grants for LAX,’ ” writes Jim Maxwell. “Why is he limiting his appeal to $50 bills?”

Hey, let’s just hope the government doesn’t try to limit Hahn to George Washingtons.

To each his own: Kate Nelson of Escondido saw a Mercedes with a license plate that read: I (Heart) SNAIL.

Nelson isn’t sure whether the owner loves escargot or the freeway commute.

miscelLAny: After I mentioned the movies, books and songs about people escaping from L.A., David Daniel of Encino came up with an exception: the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” All together now: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” (But what’s the hurry with a three-day weekend here?)

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.