When most people lose a dog, they put up posters, call the local animal shelters, and perhaps post an ad on Craigslist. Reddit contributor p1percub turned to the massive online community earlier this week and posted to the Houston subreddit with a plea for help.

Jack the pit/lab mix got away from p1percub, ran into the street, was hit by a truck, and took off at a pace the redditor couldn't keep up with. She posted an Imgur photo that generated nearly 40,000 views. Local redditors got busy sharing the image around, creating a digital dragnet for the lost pooch.

This is where redditor Hominine comes in. He saw the post and later spotted Jack in a grocery store parking lot. He followed the wandering pup as Jack ran back to the exact location he was lost from in the first place. A third party, who had been on the lookout after a Reddit-induced alert sent out to animal groups, made the actual call to the owner with the dog's location.