Hope & Happy Endings
November 8, 2024 I By Katie Cox, Executive Director
Dear Friends,
There he is, tail wagging, body wagging, with what appears to be a smile wrapped around his muzzle.
This is the typical greeting I receive through our glass door each morning as I approach our office. Then, upon opening it, there is our Director of Greeting, Banjo, eager to say good morning. It’s the perfect way to start every day.
Last week, every morning without Banjo, I was so sad.
Banjo you see has a lot of friends and many admirers. And not just people friends, he has a whole pack of dog friends as well. Last week, I am certain he was planning his own playdate when he snuck out of the house, darted across the street to greet a cat, and was hit by a car. Then he bolted.
What happened next for Banjo, we will never know. But what happened because of Banjo is a story worth telling.
Quickly word spread, amongst neighbors, friends, across social media and to people that happened just to be driving in Banjo’s neighborhood. I went to make some loops and in driving slowly attracted attention. “Oh, not Banjo!” was inevitably the response. Everyone seemed to know Banjo.
The days and nights passed, temperatures grew colder, the search continued. Within these days, as our spirits were dampened, many bright moments were shared to lift our hearts.
Share stories of hope and good news. We listened and so many people shared countless stories of good news. Stories about when their four-legged family member was hurt and ran away, but days later was found. Over and over these stories were shared and brought us the hope we needed. They bolstered our resolve and brought a little brightness to our efforts. And they reminded us to keep going and to not to give up.
Volunteer. So many people (and dogs!) volunteered their time and energy in whatever way they could. One day, 7 of Banjo’s best dog friends formed a search party and went sniffing for him. Every inch of his neighborhood was combed. Dave Ramsey, on his day off, brought his hound dogs to help. People shared the story on social media, texted for updates, sent hope-filled messages into our phones and neighbors looked around houses, under porches and in sheds. For those days it felt like half of our community was looking for Banjo.
Hope. We all worked hard to keep the light of hope burning. We kept that little flame alive in our hearts. We talked about where Banjo was and how he was healing and how we would soon find him. Even amongst the conversations of sadness and longing we tried to always end with a message of hope.
In the end it was our community that found him. One person in a bakery mentioned to the next person about the stray dog that showed up on their porch on Halloween night. And an hour later, Banjo was found, a bit bruised and battered, but alive.
Let’s let this last week remind each of us, when we have lost something, to remember to listen (and share) the inspiring stories, volunteer for others and never let the flame of hope burn out. Because something that is lost is often found again.
With deep gratitude to our community,
Katie
