Jack is a young, hairy, not very friendly, faithful and polite mutt. Neither smart nor stupid, he has a gift that I envy, that of guidance. He knows well where his house is, that of his friend Nico, and a couple of bars where they give him ham.
This summer he was left in the care of a neighborhood caregiver – five stars on the app – while we took a short trip to an island. On the last day of our stay, while reading on the beach, we received a call that no animal owner wants to receive: at the end of his morning walk, Jack slipped free of a collar that was never properly fitted, stared into the eyes of her walker for a second, as if she were a canine kidnapper, and she ran like hell.
In five minutes the professional, very worried, organized a deployment to find him. In twenty, we had entered two large WhatsApp groups dedicated to locating lost dogs in the area. We fill out a form with information about the animal and attach some photos. Several strangers approached the areas frequented by the dog. Someone started printing posters. Within an hour, Jack had already been spotted joyfully crossing four-lane streets. Within an hour and a half, a member of the group told us that he was sitting in front of our house waiting for someone to open the door for him, something that another kind person in the group did. They all knew that you should not try to catch escaped dogs and that they usually return home.
I am very grateful to those voluntary WhatsApp groups, just the kind of things whose existence is unknown until it is needed. In Jack's adventure I see networks of citizen collaboration, good use of simple technologies, local action on the ground, self-organization and good faith; and I think that the future is possible, as long as there is a little will and someone nearby who knows what to do when everything gets complicated.
This summer has turned the old saying that the more I know humans, the more I love animals on their head. I have renewed a certain faith in strangers, and I still scratch my dog's neck for having returned home whole.
