Little Dog, Big Payoff

During our evening stroll, Bandit and I walked by many, many light poles plastered with posters calling attention to a little lost dog named Max. Max is 12 years old, and I’m not certain of the breed, but I believe he’s a purebred something. He’s a lap dog – the size I usually refer to as a “practice” dog, because it’s the size you get and practice on until you’re ready for a real dog. But I digress.

Poor Max’s owners were obviously in distress about his disappearance. The poster not only gave the particulars about Max (size, identifying marks, collar information) but also additional detailed information: location where last seen, date last seen, time last seen (noon), Max’s response to strangers, etc. It was apparent that the owners kept close tabs on Max, and were desperate to get him back.

Reward information was prominently featured on the poster. The owners made it clear that no questions would be asked of the person returning Max to them. But the startling part was the amount of the reward: $2,000. Not two hundred. Two thousand.

Now I could get into a discussion of Max’s age and how many good years would he really have left, and divide that by the $2,000 investment in the reward. It does give an idea of Max’s perceived value. But that would be another digression and I’m not great at math in the first place.

Instead, it made me wonder: what would I do if I saw Max trotting down the street and I was able to get him to come to me? (For the purposes of this hypothetical scenario, I have to assume that Bandit would not behave in his normal rabid dog fashion and growl and snarl and make like he was going to be all over Max’s shit. That would scare Max away, and leave me without a hypothetical scenario.)

Say I have Max in my protective custody and I call his owners. There is much rejoicing on the other end of the line. I give them directions to my house, and they are there in an instant. There are kisses and licks and a very happy reunion. OK, fine.

Now it comes to reward time. They are ready to write me a check for $2,000. Here’s what I’ve been pondering all evening: I haven’t done $2,000 worth of work. I saw a lost dog, picked it up, took it home, and called its owners. End of story. Would I be OK with taking the reward money?

See, I think for me, it’s the amount that really throws me off. I don’t think I’d think twice if the reward amount was $200. Sure, I’d take it. But $2,000? That’s pretty big money for a little dog, and very little effort on my part.

I don’t have a moral to this story because I don’t have Max. I’m pretty close to broke, and could sure use $2,000. But could I take that amount of money for such a simple act? I’m pretty sure I know what I would do.

What would you do?