Berlin – A family member has disappeared – that’s how Friederike Brandts and her loved ones feel. That is why she and her husband even offer 5000 euros to those who bring them back the Jack Russell Terrier. Oskar was kidnapped seven weeks ago, and since then many Berliners have been looking for the dog that belongs to the Pankow couple and their two little daughters.
The event manager has had a rather relaxed relationship with social media up to now, but now she is deeply positively impressed by the enormous power that is unfolding there. She tells me: “Immediately after our Oskar was stolen in front of a Pankow drugstore, we posted the first search request on Facebook, 1500 users had shared the post within an hour.” Since then, the Brandts have been making regular updates on Instagram and Facebook for on-site campaigns Sometimes several dozen people come to help the desperate family.
In addition to the misery of the loss and the worry about Oskar, there is a feeling that Friederike Brandts would not have expected in this situation. “We feel very strongly supported by completely strangers! It is an incredibly impressive community that takes care of us in a helpful and loving manner, continues to distribute search flyers and closely monitors processes in the city. We are constantly receiving photos of dogs that are unfortunately not Oskar after all. We know exactly from witnesses how the kidnapping by a boy took place, that was also researched and documented. ”Even several kidnappings of other dogs that had just started could be ended immediately because the population now takes a close look at who is walking which dog and in case of doubt intervenes immediately.
Torn between hope and sadness, the Brandts have now increased the reward from 2500 to 5000 euros. They also turned to search professionals and, at first glance, started strange but proven campaigns, such as dragging worn t-shirts with a treat for miles through parks and streets in Prenzlauer Berg. “It sounds crazy, but it is precisely with such trawls that there are great successes.” The care of the others gives Friederike Brandts the strength for the stressful search for Oskar.
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