Joe Fay, ByronBay
Byron is usually recognised as a place where the basic social structure was largely built on a strong sense of community over many decades and one that many of us respect and promote.
But my friend and I were shocked while having coffee at a cafe in Byron recently. There was a group of at least six young adults standing on the corner of Marvel and Middleton Streets watching and discussing the plight of a dog standing in the middle of the intersection, looking confused and seemingly unaware of the cars heading towards him from all directions. Not one of them did anything to help, focusing instead on getting a photo or laughing at the danger he was so obviously in. The idea of a community coming together to help one another didn’t seem to enter their minds.
We left the cafe to usher the very scared dog off the road. As we sat on the curb trying to comfort while phoning the (very helpful) police and ranger, two women stepped up the first to help calm him and take his picture to post on FB. The second woman stopped her car to take him to the vet, where he was happily later reunited with his owner thanks to the FB post.
So while still feeling disgusted at the initial display of ‘I don’t want to get involved’ it was in the end a fine example of a community working together.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
