Sharing Pictures

Does it sometimes seem like the internet can be a really bad place? Some days it seems like all you see are news articles about really bad things happening, your email doesn’t bring good news, and your Facebook feed is a steady diet of negativity. But sometimes there are days when the internet is a tool that reminds us that, yes, there are good people out there. People who maybe want to make the world just a tiny little bit better if they can.

Today was one of those days for me. One of my rescue friends posted a really cute picture of her dog and little boy on a Facebook page, Photo Doggies for Anthony. Apparently the page was started on behalf of a boy named Anthony who’s going through cancer treatment at a children’s hospital in Arizona. They have therapy dog visits some days, but not every day. Evidently those visits are a very big deal to Anthony (because who doesn’t feel better with a dog around?), so someone decided to start a Facebook page asking people to share photos of their dogs. The idea was that he’d at least get to see dog pictures every day. 

The page seems to have gone viral, with people all over the world posting dog pictures, and encouraging their friends to post dog pictures as well. It’s a really small thing. It really doesn’t take long at all to post a picture on Facebook, but maybe it’s something that makes it a little easier for a kid to deal with something that no one wants to face. It has to feel good that so many people who will never meet him care enough to try to brighten his day just a little.

If you’re on Facebook, I encourage you to check it out. There are a lot of cute pictures, and the comments all seem to be positive, coming from a place of kindness and hope. If you’re so inclined, take a minute to share a dog picture. (Cat people, take heart, there are a few cat pictures as well.) If there’s anything to the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, it’s a page with millions of good words, and that’s something we can probably all use a little more of.