While I was outside gardening on a recent Sunday, a very sweet, friendly dog I hadn’t seen before appeared. He had no collar or visible ID, although it was obvious that he was healthy and well cared for.
My husband got him some water and I called a neighbor, who kindly brought over a collar and leash and some treats. We started what turned out to be a long trek around the neighborhood looking for his owner or someone who might recognize him. We stopped at Angell Animal Medical Center to have him checked for a chip. No success. We stopped in at Tails, the wonderful pet supply and doggie daycare spot in Hyde Square, to see if they recognized him. They did not, but took his picture and put it in their window with our phone number. They also offered to take him home with them for the night and keep him in daycare the following day while we continued trying to find his owner. Since we have cats, that was a very welcome offer, although we hoped it wouldn’t come to that. By 5 o’clock we realized we had to take them up on it and dropped him off. Let me also mention here that they refused to be paid for this. “Just happy to be able to help,” they said.
From there, we started hanging signs with his pic and our phone number around JP so that his owner could reach us.
We encountered so many kind, concerned people along the way who offered to spread the word on Facebook and blogs and had very helpful suggestions, like posting the signs at the local dog parks. We came home to print up more signs and while they were printing, we got a call from his owner. He had come home from work, discovered the escape and started on his search. He bumped into a woman walking her dog and asked if she might have seen his pup. She pointed him in the direction of one of our posted signs. He called us, and we called the folks from Tails, who brought him back. We walked him home, and seven hours after my gardening had been interrupted, all was well.
Now, I do love the satisfaction I feel after a few hours of productive gardening, but wandering around the neighborhood, experiencing such kindness and compassion and then having a happy ending, filled my heart in a much bigger way. I feel very lucky to live here.
And we all read about so much tragedy and despair and bad news. I just wanted to share some good news with neighbors.
Joan Ganon
Jamaica Plain