Leadership Thought #333 – Appreciating the Kindness of Strangers
Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.
Yesterday, as I was winding down the holiday weekend with my kids, our dog (Bambi) got loose from the backyard and ran off. You can’t really blame the dog. It was our fault for leaving the gate open and not paying attention. We were all devastated. She is still young and not all that street smart. We live in a busy downtown area, and it isn’t difficult for your thoughts to conjure up many possible terrible outcomes. To make matters worse, she wasn’t wearing her collar. It would have been an incredibly sad way to end an otherwise joyful weekend if we had been unable to find her.
After searching for some time, I began to lose hope, but then my phone rang, and we were informed that a concerned visitor to the park had seen her running around and taken her in for her own good. Thankfully, my previous call alerted the animal control person, who promptly made the connection. Thanks to the kindness of complete strangers, we ended up with a happy outcome.
It would have been easy for animal control not to make contacting me a priority. It was after normal business hours on a holiday Monday, but the person on the other end of the phone seemed genuinely concerned for us and pleased she was able to help us find our dog. I also genuinely appreciate the person who found Bambi and cared for her. I’m sure quite a few other people were reluctant to take in an 85-pound German Shepherd that was running around frantically in the park. It would have been much easier and more understandable to avoid her, call animal control, and leave a message. Instead, to quote this incredibly kind woman, “we saw her running around joyfully, but it was clear she was lost, and we were worried she might get hit by a car. We know what it’s like to love a dog, so we put her in our car and brought her home to protect her until her owners could be found.”
Sometimes, we need to rely on complete strangers to help us in life. It may end up being about something even more important than our pets. I have been fortunate that, quite a few times in my life, other people have stepped up to be kind, supportive, and helpful when needed. There are many stories I could tell of good, decent people caring about doing the right thing for someone they didn’t even know. Such kindness is a big part of what makes us human – our ability to show compassion and empathy towards others, we have no other natural reason to help.
The media is great at bombarding us with stories about the flaws in our human character and the regular breakdowns in community behavior. However, my experience has been quite the opposite. My life was made better by two people I didn’t even know yesterday, who opted to care about another living being and its family. I am forever grateful, and I hope to continue to show similar kindness to others in my own life. I highly encourage you to do the same. We are all in this thing called life together, and looking out for one another makes it a much more enjoyable, worthwhile, and comforting experience.
Related articles
- Animals show who we are, an activist writes (greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com)
- What to Do if Your Dog Gets Loose (doggymontessori.wordpress.com)
- Humane Animal Control Services (answers.com)
