Help

On our town Facebook page recently, a plea for help went out to find an adorable little dog that had managed to break free from his owner and run off into the unknown. I am not sure how other towns roll when things like this happen but we are a town of dog lovers and once activated, the search is on. We screen shot the number to call if the dog is sighted; we check under our sheds and porches in hopes of finding the missing pup; we drive extra slow on streets where there have been sightings; we set out extra water bowls on our back porches at night lest the escapee becomes parched mid-adventure; we bring extra treats and leashes when we walk our own dogs; we don’t sleep well at night knowing someone’s dog is out fending for itself against the coyotes, traffic and presumed abject loneliness; and we check the original Facebook post incessantly hoping to see a post confirming that the dog has been found. In short, we care a lot. If we are fortunate enough to be the home that the missing dog trots up to when flight mode gives way to exhaustion, we welcome the furry little fugitive into our home with open arms, providing water and unlimited snacks with one hand while relaying the good news via phone to the frantic owner with the other. 

We would do anything for each other’s dogs.

 
This particular rebel dog went missing for six days. That is a long time for a dog used to predictable meal times, snuggly bedding and its own well stocked toybox to survive in the literal wild. This renegade pup was seen multiple times all over town. He was small but freakishly fast. Several follow up posts on Facebook said things like: “Saw the dog and it ran right by me into the woods” or “Saw the dog and could not catch it”. The poor little thing was terrified and its strongest reaction was to run as fast as it could away.

 

And I got to thinking. 

 

Here we have a desperately lost dog who - though he might have been having fun at first - days in was surely feeling the stress of missing his family and not having food or a safe place to sleep. At the same time, we also have a whole town of humans who want nothing more than to find this dog, provide it with comfort and safety and reunite it with its family. Every day and night, this dog ran past hundreds of homes not realizing that if he had walked up to any porch and cried out, help would have been immediate. His pain and confusion would have been over. His needs would have been met. No one would have considered his need for help to be an inconvenience. In fact, it would have been considered an honor to help him. 

 

I think something similar holds true for lost people.

When we are at our lowest. When we are running scared. When we have lost the way back home. When we are running as fast as we can away because we can’t tell who might help us from who might hurt us. When we are exhausted and terrified and every day running fast into the dark woods.

 

We sometimes forget that we are surrounded by help.

 

We forget that if we show up exhausted on someone’s hypothetical front porch - in whatever state of distress we are in - we will likely be met with kindness, a warm blanket, nourishment, a listening ear, and the assurance that all days won’t be as hard as the days we’ve just survived.  Our request for help wouldn’t be considered an inconvenience. The people around us would be honored to help. 

There is a lot of pain in the world and some seasons of pain nearly break us. But we are surrounded by people who would be honored to accompany us through hard times and happy to  carry some of the load. 

 

They just need to know we need help.

 

Thankfully, this runaway dog story had a happy ending and the pup is now back with his family likely living his best life once again. He wasn’t lost forever. We are not lost forever either. Sometimes we just need a little help getting back home.