ESPN basketball reporter Dave McMenamin is one of the most plugged-in Cleveland Cavaliers reporters out there. If you're a fiend for all things LeBron James and company, McMenamin is a must-follow on social media.
But the unfortunate reality for McMenamin and many others is that, if you want to be a great NBA reporter, you can't have a normal life. You can't do the things normal people do, like spend most of their time at home and own a dog.
McMenamin typically posts about the Cavs—it's his #brand—but he broke character on Tuesday to share a story with Twitter and to seek help as he stumbled upon a lost dog in San Antonio.
He follows the Cavs for ESPN, and he was in town for Cleveland's game against San Antonio (which, by the way, the Spurs won, extending Cleveland's recent misery as the team has dropped 10 of 13). McMenamin was driving his rental car over to the AT&T Center when he spotted the dog and decided to help.
McMenamin enlisted the help of Twitter, specifically calling for assistance from Shea Serrano, The Ringer's staff writer who could probably get elected president in 2020 because of his dominance of the social media platform. If you're looking for help on Twitter, Shea's your guy.
City of San Antonio, I need your help. I found this stray dog weaving in and out of traffic on E Houston St by the AT&T Center and picked him up in my rental car. Where can I take him now? cc: @SheaSerrano pic.twitter.com/CS3Pw9D9F3
Serrano, like many others, told McMenamin to keep the dog. McMenamin, of course, is on the road for nearly half the year, so that isn't exactly feasible. But he provided constant updates on the dog over the course of a couple hours.
With the help of Twitter, McMenamin located a branch of Animal Care Services and dropped the dog off. It seemed that would be the end of the story. After the game Tuesday night, he said on SportsCenter that he already missed the dog, whom he had named Buddy.
On Wednesday, however, he updated the story: the dog's owner had been identified and the pup will be picked up Thursday.
UPDATE! Animal Care Services was able to get in touch with Buddy’s owner today. She is scheduled to pick up her pup tomorrow for the reunion. I asked ACS to pass on my info to her so I could provide some sort of postscript in the future. Good news, indeed.
You've got to love the act from McMenamin—a real good-guy move.
