I live in a nice little neighborhood in North Syracuse, NY.  Most people know of it, running along Chestnut Street between Allen Road and Route 11.  It's a very friendly and affordable place to live.  We've been here for about six years and even though we are quickly outgrowing our home, we are hesitant to leave.

Here is an example of why: our dog got out of the back yard this morning.  He's a six year old German Shepherd and he is easily the best dog we have ever had.  Tucker, good old Tucker.  We went into full- on panic mode at about 7:30 when we discovered he'd flown the coop sometime between then and 6:30 this morning when my husband let him out.

We called from the front yard.  No Tucker.  Called in the back yard.  No Tucker.

So, we started driving around the neighborhood calling to him.  And we found that neighbors that had never met us before, living streets away, wanted to help us find our dog.  They carefully took down his name and description and our address and promised to return him if they found him.  We ended up finding him because a runner had seen him and pointed my husband in the right direction.  Thank goodness!  My two year old's eyes were just brimming with tears after a half hour or driving around with no luck.

But what a testimonial to a truly wonderful area to live in.  If you haven't checked it out, please do.  It is really a great place to be.  Thank you, neighbors.