Security Guard Hailed 'Hero' After Protecting Dog from Rain Outside of Store
Runs to the grocery store are hastier than ever, and there’s a sense of distrust and judgment that wasn’t there before.
Before this year, other shoppers were part of the background noise that comes with shopping. Now, everyone’s a potential carrier.
It’s a lot more difficult to give someone a reassuring smile from behind a mask, but we’re also in a time that could use a lot more graciousness and kindness as we all do our best to stay healthy.
One security guard in Giffnock, Scotland, exhibited that very thoughtfulness in a way that was small but certainly did not go unnoticed.
The security guard, Ethan Dearman, was out in front of a Morrisons grocery store when he noted two things. One, there was a pup tied to a post outside the store, patiently waiting for his owner to finish shopping. Two, it had started to rain.
Dearman did what many dog lovers would have done: He both kept an eye on the dog and held an umbrella over him.
One passer-by saw the scene and snapped a photo as they drove by. The picture was soon on Twitter and taking off.
“Shout out to this @Morrisons security man keeping this good boy dry,” a user by the name of Crisp Rat tweeted. “He said ‘well you never know how dogs feel about the rain.'”
Shout out to this @Morrisons security man keeping this good boy dry. He said ‘well you never know how dogs feel about the rain’ pic.twitter.com/B9CPWI7u5Q
— Crisp Rat (@MelGracie_) June 28, 2020
The image was shared over 20,000 times and liked over 150,000 times. People commented thanking the man, calling him a “hero” and recognizing his small act of kindness.
One even wrote, “Give this person a pay rise.”
Later, when the guard was identified as Dearman, he tweeted an acknowledgment of the moment.
Found out the security guard is @DearmanEthan – thanks for making a lot of people happy today!
— Crisp Rat (@MelGracie_) June 28, 2020
“Looks like I made a lot of people happy today,” he wrote on June 28.
“I just wanna give the Morrisons giffnock team a shout out,” Dearman tweeted two days later. “If it wasn’t for the teamwork between staff on a daily basis then I wouldn’t have been able to shelter Freddie from the rain and watch customer queues while staff members at the door continued to count the numbers inside.”
While not everyone has been happy to see that the lovely dog was left outside by itself in the first place, what everyone can agree on is that the security guard did the right thing. And in the comments, Dearman explained that the dog belongs to a friend of his — so he was no doubt keeping an eye on the pup until his owner was done.
Not long after the initial post, a man identified himself as the owner of the dog and thanked Dearman, too.
“Our dog Freddie has went viral after kind security man put up his umbrella for Freddie when it started raining at the Morrisons near my parents house,” the owner, David Cherry, wrote. “Good community vibes. People looking out for each other. He’s always nice to my Dad and brother, it’s nice to hear nice things.”
Our dog Freddie has went viral after kind security man put up his umbrella for Freddie when it started raining at the Morrisons near my parents house. Good community vibes. People looking out for each other. He’s always nice to my Dad and brother, it’s nice to hear nice things ? https://t.co/VhBAjVSYln
— David Cherry (@davidjcherry) June 29, 2020
People’s response to the photo has highlighted both how dogs bring us together and how desperately we need these little moments of kindness.
The act itself may have been small, but it has had an enormous ripple effect, and at least 150,000 people’s day is the better for it — (hopefully) including yours!
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