What I Found in the 'Lost and Found'

I love the way the internet links from one idea to another. Sometimes the ideas are connected solidly, sometimes precariously, but always there is something more out there. What really amazes me though is that the internet does this between people, tying together absolute strangers for a second, a month, or a lifetime. Why, there was about a year of my own life when a stranger from Maine knew more about my successes and failures than most of my local friends. We were both members of a now defunct ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ discussion board, and we just happened to have similar things going on in our lives. I haven’t talked to Ryan in almost a year now, but today I left an anonymous phone message for a woman I’ve never met just to make sure her dog had gotten home safely.

See, there’s this fluffy grey and white cat I saw skittering around my neighbourhood the other night. The problem is I’m sure he’s the same cat I saw a twenty minute walk outside of my neighbourhood the day before. Thus, methinks he may be lost. He’s not one for approaching strangers (hence the word ‘skittering’) so I couldn’t get close enough to see if he had a collar or not. Instead I went to the Toronto Humane Society’s website to visit their Lost and Found animal postings. I thought if someone in my area had lost a friend matching his description, I’d at least let them in on his last known whereabouts.

I had no luck finding a posting for the cat, but with my roommate Peter looking over my shoulder I went to the dog section, just to see if there was anyone we should keep an eye out for. I was surprised to see a ‘Found’ and a ‘Lost’ posting for the same dog (made a certainty by the red collar and bandana he was described as wearing in both). The postings were both from four days ago so I assume that a reunion has already taken place. Still, there was the lingering chance…

I didn’t make the call anonymous for any particular reason, it just seemed more important to provide the name and number of the person who’d posted the ‘Found’ article than my own. So now this woman has a message from a stranger about the dog she’s likely had safe at home for days, and I have a new page to add to my daily internet surfing. Not that I expect to find more of these paired postings, but there’s still the matter of the grey and white feline, and all the other beloved animals who I’ve just learned may be hiding under a porch near me.

(I wonder if anyone has ever sat down with the personal ads and tried to play matchmaker? Oooo, I sense a bad comedy script in the wings.)

Quick Links:
The Toronto Humane Society