How the Lost & Found Board Got a Stranger's Dog Home

On a Monday evening I came out of the BTS at Asok and saw a medium-sized brown dog sitting outside my building, wearing a green collar and looking very worried. He was clean and well-fed, so I guessed that he was not a street dog. He did not run away when I crouched down. He just leaned his shoulder on my knee and breathed out slowly, the way tired dogs do.

I checked the collar. There was no tag, no phone number, nothing. I asked the security guard, who said the dog had been walking up and down the soi since the afternoon. We gave him water and some plain rice, and I put a towel in the lobby, because it looked like rain. My own dog, Crumpet the Corgi, was waiting upstairs and was not at all happy about the smell of a stranger on my shorts.

The next day he was still there. I did what I should have done sooner: I took three clear photos, wrote down the exact place and time, and posted on the Lost & Found board here on Wagdee. I described him, the green collar, a small white patch on his chest, the soi, and I asked people to share. I also took him to a vet nearby to check for a microchip. There was none, but the vet looked him over, said he was healthy and cheerfully gave him a few minutes of fuss.

The post travelled faster than I expected. Within two hours, three members had shared it. A woman from a neighbouring soi sent me a message saying that her friend had lost a dog two days earlier, after a gate was left open during a delivery. A little later a young man arrived at my building, out of breath, with a leash in his hand. The dog saw him, and I have never seen a tail move so fast. He cried, the dog cried, the guard cried a little, and I pretended to have something in my eye.

His name was Toffee. He lived six sois away. I gave the owner a few tips: a name tag, a microchip, and a photo of the dog on his phone at all times. He thanked me, gave me a bag of mangoes, and walked off with Toffee.

So, if you find a dog, post quickly, with clear photos and the exact place. If you lose one, post just as quickly. This board works.