PAW it FORWARD?

Seven years ago the Catherine Ryan Hyde's novel Pay It Forward was published and adapted into a movie. In both instances, book and movie, Pay It Forward is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment of a good deed that one receives. The good deeds should be things that the other person cannot accomplish on their own. In this way, the need to help one another can spread exponentially through society, creating a social movement with the goal of making the world a better place.

Seven days ago, Sophie and Roscoe (Harper), two Siberian Huskies escaped from their backyard and were shot by a neighbor while allegedly attacking his chickens. Enter the Paw it Forward movement. The concept was coined by a sympathetic friend of the Harpers and is spreading rampantly through a MySpace community of supportive Siberian Husky owners and dog lovers.

Topic boards and groups are exploding with opinions from both sides of the proverbial fence. An outpouring of grief, rage and insults dominate the posts. There is very little in the way of productive conversation. While I too am experiencing the grief and sympathy that many of the supporters are feeling, I see the need to apply the brakes and examine the logic of these actions.

If Paw It Forward is to have a positive impact in this and future situations, some cool heads need to prevail. The Pay It Forward concept calls for three good deeds to be applied to other situations in order for the concept to be effective. To be successful, Paw It Forward has to be applied in the same manner. Three good deeds in return for one...be it good or bad. As those who are sympathetic to the issue are interpreting it now, it seems to imply 3 acts of vengeance for one bad act.