Little Dog Lost: Canadians And Kindness

Canadians are some of the most caring, giving people on the planet. This past Sunday, my Italian Greyhound “Cowboy” escaped the house and made a run for it. Sunday here was 35 degrees Celsius and was dry as a desert. My wife and I spent hours searching the surrounding forest with no results. The worst part was that Cowboy had a leash on and I was very afraid he would get caught on something and die from the heat before we could find him.

We started putting up signs and speaking to people in the area but I felt truly helpless. Cowboy could be hit by a car, die of the heat, or be stolen because “iggys” are very expensive. But the people we met made me feel better about these things. People were kind and attentive and truly interested in Cowboy's welfare. The next day, as we continued the search, people we didn’t know asked us how the search was going and told us they were telling friends to keep an eye out. My daughter hit twitter and was retweeted dozens of times. People started sending emails asking about Cowboy. It was amazing.

Now for the good news. On Monday I said a little prayer to figure out where to put the next set of posters and I put them 3 kms away on the bus stops. At 4 pm I got a call from a young man and his father saying their neighbours had found a dog in their pool shed. I asked where it was and they said it was about three kms away! The lovely lady had told the guys and they went out, found a poster, and called me. They drove over and led me to the house and there was my little buddy, tired but very happy to see me. The people were as excited as I was to see our reunion and they were just glad it all worked out.

The next day I received a phone call from a lady from Kemptville. It’s a lovely town about 45 minutes from Ottawa. She had heard about us from Facebook and was calling to see if we had found him yet. She was elated and said she had a group of friends praying for Cowboy's return. These are complete strangers whose only reason to care was the love they have for animals and people. In a world where people seem more and more unfriendly and isolated, it seems that when the chips are down people are really waiting to show they care. Ottawa continues to be an example for the rest of the country when it comes to donations and volunteerism. I am proud to be counted as one of them. By the way: Cowboy has promised not to run away again. 

Yeah right; Hah!