Weird Virginia: Wild Shih Tzu, Wrong-Way Driver, Robber Flees on Bicycle, Traffic Cop Impersonator

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening in at least one of them. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week.

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We started off an especially weird week in  Most Shih Tzus are pretty pampered dogs — getting out and about to go to the groomers and such. Not Biscuit. He survived in the wilds of Franconia for two years, after slipping away from his owner on the first day he was brought home.

He'd been spotted numerous times by neighbors and Animal Control Officer Enna Lugo. She finally nabbed him last weekend and hustled him off to the shelter, where employees trimmed off tangled matts of hair and got rid of...40 ticks. His owner, who some surmised had died or moved away, lives in the area. She decided to let him get adopted by a new family. He's already gotten upwards of 100 inquiries at the animal shelter. Go Biscuit! We're glad he made it through what must have been a harrowing two years.

It was definitely an alarming experience Thursday for anyone on 495 who saw a Missouri man driving the wrong way on the Beltway. The situation caused several wrecks, sent people to the hospital and snarled traffic for hours.

Another tale of an officer, but this one...not as heroic as Officer Lugo. Actually, not even an officer. We've heard of people being pulled over and asking to see an officer's badge, but a driver showing an officer a fake badge? It happened in Arlington, where a 38-year-old medical assistant was according to the Arlington County Police Department. Hussein Al-Rehaief, of Sterling, claimed he was an officer and displayed a badge when he was pulled over during a traffic stop, police reported. Further questioning uncovered that he was impersonating an officer, police said. Al-Rehaief was charged with impersonating a police officer and failure to obey a highway sign. 

Another incident that took place in Arlington...most people bring flowers, balloons, a gift when visiting a newborn and the proud parents. But a meat cleaver? The Virginia Hospital Center maternity ward was the scene where a 34-year-old Arlington man reportedly threw a 3-by-6-inch meat cleaver into a hospital room full of people — including a woman who had just given birth. Kareem Jorif went to Virginia Hospital Center at about 5:30 p.m. Friday to deliver a message to the new mother: The baby's father would not be able to come to the hospital, as he had just been put in jail. 

Across the Potomac in Georgetown, residents were surprised to see a Car2Go parked on O Street at 37th Street NW Wednesday morning with its left rear tire firmly planted on the sidewalk. Hmmmm. Car2Go, a car-sharing service with a slew of blue and white SmartCars parked throughout the District, makes drivers pay for any parking tickets or tows that might be issued for parking violations. But what about poor parking?

You know that mini-heat wave we've been having? It's apparently sparked a crime wave of sorts in Falls Church, where a hot item is...bolted-to-the-ground air conditioning units. Police were investigating the disappearance of three external air conditioning units. The large units are bolted to the ground and city spokeswomen Susan Finarelli said police are actively investigating the thefts. “Right now it's a coincidence,” Finarelli said. “There's no evidence they're connected, but it's certainly an odd coincidence.”

Nothing like a visit with an old friend, right? In Dale City, a visit between two acquaintances turned ugly when a woman ended up ramming her friend's vehicle and then spray-painting it. Police have charged a Stafford woman with two counts of attempted malicious wounding and destruction of property after the vehicle was reportedly rammed repeatedly on I-95 and then spray-painted in Dale City, Prince William County Police spokesperson Jonathan Perok said. No word on what sparked the rampage.

Down in Manassas, police are on the lookout for a guy who held up a CVS and walked away with a bag of narcotics. He made his getaway...not by hopping into a car, buddy at the wheel, revving the engine. Nope, it was just him. And his bicycle. He pedaled away on a yellow bicycle before police arrived and appeared to have made a clean getaway. 

Can't get enough of Weird Virginia? Catch up on past stories here: