I was walking Spuds down a street in our neighborhood when I noticed a group of tools, five or six, lying in the grass on the strip between the sidewalk and the street. They looked new: I’d guess it was about 50 dollars worth, maybe 75. There was no automobile in front of the house, though that didn’t necessarily mean no one was home.
What’s a good neighbor to do?
These were nice tools, and kids are walking around the neighborhood constantly: maybe no one would take the tools, but maybe someone would. There’s a useful but dishonest rationalization in such circumstances: they’re abandoned! I thought about picking them up and carrying them up to the front door. I considered picking up the tools, carrying them home with Spuds, and driving by later to see if the owners were home. I was tempted to just toss them from the strip to the lawn, where nobody could argue that the strip between the road and the sidewalk is public territory.
If I had not been struggling to keep my exuberant dog under control when the cooler weather makes him especially rambunctious, my calculations might have been different. In retrospect, I see that this was a Golden Rule test: what would I want someone to do if it were my tools being left behind and left to their own resources?
At the time, however, with promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep, I decided to leave the tools where they were. I didn’t feel an obligation to do anything because there isn’t one (and also a useful rationalization that I need to add to the list: “This isn’t my problem”) , but clearly the more ethical course would have been to protect my neighbor’s property.
Ethics Alarms 
Well, maybe someone will learn not to leave their tools in the yard? Just as I never did learn and just as OB junior never did, much to the chagrin of my father and my own self.
I would’ve knocked on the door and if nobody answered, moved the tools up to the porch and left them there. Having them closer to the house might’ve reduced the temptation for someone to walk off with them.
Si.
I would have probably done nothing. It’s been my experience that “no good deed goes unpunished.”
Just makes me think of the Sombebody Else’s Problem field from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_else%27s_problem#Douglas_Adams'_SEP_field
If this had been the home of a friend, you probably would not have hesitated to go to the door to find out if the tools belonged there. Why not act the same for a stranger? That’s assuming, of course, that your dog could be controlled so as to not present a danger to a stranger. My experience has been that good deeds almost always have a good result.
Spuds was a big part of the problem: he’s a handful, and on a leash can be protective with strangers. Yes, you are right: if I had known the owners, I would have handled the situation differently
My experience has been that good deeds almost always have a good result. That’s not my experience AT ALL, but it doesn’t matter: you do the right thing because it’s right.