Doing the Right Thing

Some people assume New Yorkers are a cold and uncaring lot. But when it comes to animals, I promise you, nothing could be further from the truth. Consider the amazing story that made the front page of the New York Daily News on March 11, 1998.

A Canadian movie producer visiting New York City lost his dog Bill in midtown Manhatten. Jeth Weinrich had tied Bill outside a store (Something one should NEVER do!) He became frightened by all the traffic and noise and got loose.

Determined to find this 11 year-old dog, Weinrich went to every source he could: newspapers, radio, TV, and of course, the internet.

For five days, poor Bill wandered the traffic-congested streets. From NYC, thru the Holland Tunnel, to Hoboken, NJ, people kept calling saying they'd seen him at different locations and tried to catch him but he was too frightened.

Seems like the whole city got involved looking for this poor frightened pooch, which is why, when he was finally rescued, the story made the "Front Page" of the N.Y. Daily News. The newspaper account was several pages long, and showed a map of the different places he was spotted.

I suspect there were many miracles that led to the safe return of Bill to his owner that we'll never know of. It's also my belief that the combined energy of millions of New Yorkers, wishing, hoping, praying, picturing a happy ending for this dog was a big factor in his survival. Of course, we must also give credit to the kind Holland Tunnel workers who tried to rescue Bill when he was spotted in the tunnel, huddled against the wall as the traffic whizzed by beneath the East River, headed for New Jersey.

"We couldn't catch him," said Port Authority employee Moises Gomez. "He was too scared. So we halted the rush hour traffic so he could at least escape safely to the Jersey side."

Five days after he was lost, Christine Joseph, a 26 year-old student at St Johns College, saw Bill try to dash across four lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike. He was hit by a speeding truck in the center lane. Somehow Christine managed to stop her car, get out, and make her way to the center lane where she picked up the 45 lb injured animal and carried him back to her car. From there, she drove him to a veterinarian, where he was later reunited with his grateful owner.

And if all this is not enough to convince anyone there are angels and miracles everywhere, consider what Christine said when Jeth Weinrich tried to coax her to taking the $5000 reward he'd offered. She said, "No, I wouldn't feel right taking money for just simply doing the right thing."

Ginger, Queens, New York 
Visit Ginger's web page.