(Disclaimer: La Tonique Media LLC does not represent any political ideology. While we do not espouse any political beliefs, we do seek to provide a balance perspective by incorporating voices from both sides of the political spectrum.)

By JTTC

Sometimes the world can feel depressing, especially when doom-scrolling through a seemingly endless list of disheartening headlines. It’s always important to remember that there is more to people and the world than gloom that’s easy to see.

For many people, one of their worst fears is the thought of their child going missing. In the United States, there are about 460,000 children reported as missing every year according to the FBI. Many of these incidents, like the disappearance of Etan Patz  and Madeleine McCann, have generated widespread media attention, instigated large-scale police responses, influenced parenting techniques and even influenced governmental policy.

Thankfully, cases as dark as these are rare even if they are frequently in headline news. While children are less likely to survive an abduction by a stranger, these abductions are relatively rare, with most children being either abducted by a family member or someone close to the family. Abductions themselves are rare as well, with about 95% of missing children’s cases being caused by the child running away.

According to a 2002 study by the U.S. Department of Justice, 99.8% of all missing children return home alive. Swift action by law enforcement, with the help of the public through the Amber alert system, has resulted in nearly 1,000 children being rescued as of May 2020. However, sometimes it is the public, and in this case one brave pit bull, that helps to keep missing children safe and returned to their homes.

On October 1st, toddler Kh’amorion Taylor (local media report) was found wandering a northern St. Louis neighborhood still in his pajamas with no shoes. Curiously, the child not only appeared to be in a healthy and clean condition but was accompanied by a large pit bull. Eventually, a neighbor, noticing the child’s unusual circumstance began searching for the parents, knocking on nearby doors but receiving no answers or confirmation as to the child’s identity.

This neighbor who wished to remain anonymous made a social media post about the child allowing the father to pinpoint his son, and they were soon reunited. Residents reported to the local news outlet that the child appeared to be protected by the dog, with the child happily referring to the dog as “puppy” numerous times.

We may not know to what extent the pit bull prevented the child from coming to harm. However, what we do know is that thanks to this pit bull and the decisive actions of a concerned neighbor, a child was happily reunited with his family. The pit bull is also being considered for adoption by the St. Louis Police Department.

It’s easy to get sucked into and beaten down by the nearly infinite vortex of depressing news. But there is more in life than doom and gloom. A wise man once said “If you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see”.

JTTC is a political writer for La Tonique.