There is an old axiom in newspapers — or maybe it’s a new one we just made up — that says you can never have enough dogs or enough Santa Claus in the paper.
Whether or not there has been empirical evidence to support this theory in the past, there is now. A story that started as a post on the Facebook page for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington turned into a Columbian story that elicited thousands upon thousands of online comments, setting an unofficial record for public feedback at Columbian.com. And along the way, the tale reinforced the fact that dogs touch a deeply emotional place for many, many people. Maybe that is because, as pundit Andy Rooney once said, “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
It all started when William Jones of Battle Ground left his dog, Hunter, a black Lab, with a friend. The reason? Jones was traveling to Eastern Washington to help fight wildfires. Hunter at some point jumped the fence, was picked up by animal control, and was delivered to the Humane Society. Because Hunter did not have a collar or an implanted microchip, Humane Society officials had no way of identifying him. Following standard protocol, Hunter was put up for adoption after seven days, and a few days later he was adopted by another family. When Jones became aware of the situation, he told his tale on the Humane Society’s Facebook page, and all heck broke loose.
That probably was predictable, considering the elements of the story. You have a dog, an owner performing a noble and dangerous job, and a family with a new pet. It is the story of love lost and love found, of heartbreak for one owner and joy for a family — the kind that resonates with the public on a personal level. It also is the kind that leads many people to get on their high horses and criticize Jones for not having his dog microchipped, or the Humane Society for adopting Hunter out, or the adoptive family for not initially returning the dog when the story went public.
