Great Moments in Serendipity
Sep. 2nd, 2011 07:05 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
tom-champion.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareEarly this afternoon I was walking down Highland Ave near City Hall, when I saw an adolescent, frolicsome German Shepard run into the street, where he was nearly struck by a passing car. (The driver would not have been at fault, and deserves credit for quick braking.) By the time I got to the spot of the near-accident, a bystander (pizza delivery guy) was holding the dog's collar and trying to figure out what to do next.
Since we were right in front of City Hall, I offered to take the dog inside, where I tried to reach Animal Control by phone. When that effort failed, and when I also didn't get through on the Police non-emergency line, the dog and I went downstairs to the 311 office, where I was confident they'd be able to give me additional phone numbers. As I stood in the 311 office explaining the situation to my former colleagues, I heard one of the service reps say the following words into his headset: "Actually, ma'am, I'm looking at the dog right now. Yes, ma'am, the dog is sitting right in front of me. Why don't you come by City Hall to pick him up?"
A few minutes later, "Max" was reunited with Denise. (It was obvious they were already well-acquainted.)
I give Denise a lot of points for having the presence of mind to call 311 to report her dog as missing. But what are the odds of that precise sequence of events playing out in that order? Max is a very lucky pooch. Also charming -- but charm will take you only so far.
Saturday Update: Thank you for all the generous comments, but – truly – there’s no heroism involved. Except perhaps, on the part of Mayor Curtatone, who campaigned in 2003 to make Somerville the first community of its size (and the first city in Massachusetts) to implement a 311 constituent service program – and then turned that promise into a cost-effective reality.
Not a week goes by that April Terrio, our Animal Control Officer, and the City’s 311/website staff don’t team up to effect the same type of owner-pet reunion that occurred yesterday. Lots of people now know what to do if they lose a pet or find a lost one (call Animal Control and/or 311) – and they do it all the time. The difference yesterday is that the process was short-circuited by a number of unlikely, but fortuitous, coincidences. I cannot take credit for this one. It was, however, such a happy little story that I couldn’t resist posting it here.Have a great Labor Day Weekend, everybody – and don’t forget that Theatre@First’s production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It is playing Sept. 8 -11 in Seven Hills Park. It’s free and (I can say this because my part is such a modest one) it’s going to be fast, funny and immensely entertaining. I will hope to see you there.
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Date: 2011-09-03 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-09-03 01:10 am (UTC)You are missed at the COS!
April T - the ellusive ACO
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Date: 2011-09-03 01:26 am (UTC)You are like a superhero Tom! Bravo :).
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