A dog fell into a Manchester canal — so strangers built a human chain

Sumak the dog slipped into the canal at Ancoats, Manchester, and couldn't scramble up the steep, slippery wall. His owner held the lead to keep his head above water but couldn't lift him alone. Then the towpath did what towpaths do at their best: two 20-year-old students rushed over, passersby gathered, and one man let the crowd lower him headfirst down the wall — held by his legs — until he could grab the panicked dog and haul him to safety. Nobody fell in; everybody cheered. As one onlooker put it online: the world is still warm.

Mechanism: community action