Downtown Brooklyn's dog day afternoon

Dogs love to ride in the car, but does that apply to stolen cars? Last week an 11-year-old Pekingese named Ashley was taken for a joyride on through Windsor Terrace.

At noon on Sept. 8, a thief stole Kira West's SUV from the Windsor Avenue area with her dog still inside. West had run a quick errand, leaving Ashley in the car. That's when the dog-napper and car thief stepped in. Both the car and the dog were missing for more than 24 hours.

A day later, dog and owner were reunited. Everyone was fine, though Ashley was quite a hungry dog. How did the reunion happen?

Neighbor Clara Turner heard a dog barking from inside an abandoned car on Windsor Avenue between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park Southwest. That's just a mere four blocks from the original crime. Turner called the cops, who in turn discovered that the vehicle was stolen.

Within an hour of the call, Ashley was freed from her four-wheeled-prison. The car thief is still at large.