lost pets.

After seeing my neighbor's house being broken into by three deadbeats, I'm in the mood to make a depressing post.

Each laundromat I've been to has the ubiquitous corkboard. Want ads. Lost and found. Cleaning services. You know, things tacked all over the place.

But there's always that one piece of paper that actually has some small amount of meaning to it. Some purpose greater than the "OrlandoSingles.com" flyers.

Lost pets.

A lot of times I won't even stop to read these. Maybe I'm callous, but I just skim over them like the rest of the stupid shit posted.

But sometimes when that last spin cycle seems to take extra long--I have to find something to read.

There's an immediate story to each of them. You get the dog's (cat's, bird's, alligator's) name, personality, age, and sometimes a fun anecdote just to help you connect. Really, I've seen some good ones. Maybe there is a company that will write your lost pet flyers for a minimum amount of money.

However, most of them seem to be hastily designed. Fluffikins has been missing for about two hours, Suzy and Stan have scoured the 4 blocks around their bungalow house, and now they need to get the word out to the neighborhood. Every second counts! Every second is one more chance for Fluffikins to wind up under a car.


This was a rush job. But the paper protector gives it permanence to go along with its urgency.

Then others are elaborate. Someone took the time and patience to fire up Photoshop or InDesign to create a perfect piece of advertising. They may as well put a hyperlink to a fully developed website showcasing an effects-heavy video.

These flyers are weird.

But a lot of these miniature stories fall victim to vandalism and graffiti, like most publicly posted documents. Sometimes it can be lighthearted fun (such as adding a mustache to a ginger cat), but then there are assholes that act like assholes just for the sake of being an asshole.


Thank you Mr. I-Know-More-About-Your-Dog-Than-You. Now help them find their impostor Scottie.