This is a story that has no political affiliation, no political division, but is a story of neighbors, of a community of kindness.

Our dog, Bear, a beautiful big black German Shepherd, ran off on Dec. 27 while we were out hiking a mere mile from home. What happened next is what the United States of America is truly about. No one asked, “Did you vote for Trump?” No one asked for my stance on Syria or fake news. What they did ask is, How can I help, where can I look, how can I call him? They shared his story and his lost poster thousands of times on Facebook, they offered to increase his reward with their own money, they offered sympathy and love.

Bear is not home yet — with no real sightings we believe he might have unknowingly (or knowingly) been sheltered or perhaps he will be found sleeping a forever sleep. We deeply hope for Bear’s return, but we also hope for our country to return to seeing that people, underneath the rhetoric and heated discussions, care for one another — care for a dog that we loved — and that we are a nation with much more in common than we remember at this time.

Katrina Smith

Palermo