Jack is a young, hairy, not very nice, faithful and polite guy. Neither smart nor stupid, he has a gift that I envy, that of orientation. He knows well where his house is, his friend Nico's house and a couple of bars where they give him ham.
This summer it was left in the care of a neighborhood carer – five stars on the app – while we took a short trip to an island. On the last day of our stay, when we were reading on the beach, we received a call that no animal owner wants to receive: at the end of the morning walk, Jack had let go of a collar that did not he had never been well-adjusted, he stared into the walker's eyes for a second, as if she were a canine kidnapper, and took off running like a spirit.
In five minutes the professional, very worried, organized a whole deployment to find him. Within twenty minutes, we had joined two numerous WhatsApp groups dedicated to locating lost dogs in the area. We filled in a sheet with information about the animal and attached some photos. Several strangers approached the areas frequented by the dog. Someone started printing posters. After an hour, they had already seen Jack happily crossing four-lane streets. After an hour and a half, a member of the group warned us that she was sitting in front of our house waiting for someone to open the portal for her, which another kind person in the group did. They all knew that dogs that run away should not be caught and that they usually return home.
I'm very grateful for the voluntary WhatsApp groups, just the kind of thing you don't know exists until you need it. In Jack's adventure I see citizen collaboration networks, a good use of simple technologies, local action on the ground, self-organization and good faith; and I think the future is possible, as long as there is a little will and someone around who knows what to do when things get complicated.
This summer, the phrase made about the more I know humans, the more I love animals has turned it upside down. I have renewed some faith in strangers, and my dog, finally, is still scratching the back of his neck for having returned home in one piece.
