As an Uber driver, Brandi is used to finding items left behind in her Toyota Prius.

But when she turned to her back seat after a ride last week, the Gilbert woman found a four-legged surprise.

Brandi picked up a rider and his pit bull in north Phoenix last week and drove them about 30 minutes toward the east Valley, she said. She said the dog’s apparent owner, the Uber customer, quickly got out at his destination: an apartment complex.

After Brandi realized the dog was still in the back seat, she went into the complex to try to find the man, with no luck. The phone number linked to his Uber account was disconnected, she said.

"Maybe rather than advertising on Craigslist, he was trying to find if [the dog] found a connection with somebody,” Brandi, who asked that only her first name be used, said.

“I guess with me, he thought [the dog] found it."

Uber advised Brandi to take the dog to a shelter, she said. That idea was a non-starter for her due to the fear that the dog, named Honey, could be euthanized. Honey is a nine-month-old, purebred Pitbull, Brandi said.

The Maricopa County Animal Care and Control website states that someone who cares for a dog or cat for six days automatically becomes the animal’s owner.

“She's got a good home now,” Brandi said of Honey. “She's not going anywhere."