Dog Hero Story: Family dog helps rescue 11 year owner after Helene in Western NC
photo credit WCNC NBC
A family dog, rescued from an animal shelter, returned the favor by helping his owner escape from a 12-foot pile of debris after a mudslide.
Eleven-year-old Jamie Parker was at his home near Asheville, North Carolina, when a mudslide caused by Hurricane Helene trapped him under debris. His dog, Tucker, stayed by his side, barking to alert rescuers to Jamie’s location. Thanks to Tucker’s determination, the boy was saved.
“Everything just started shaking, and then I just face-planted,” Parker recalled. Aside from a few cuts that were treated at the hospital, he was unharmed. “I could hear Tucker and my sister and grandma,” he added.
Parker’s grandfather, Michael Johns, shared that the family adopted Tucker just before he was to be euthanized at a shelter. “The kids used their birthday money to buy the dog,” he said.
Donna Johns, Parker’s grandmother, reflected on the experience. “We were sitting there in the rain and wind, thinking we were safe because we had food and electricity. We thought it would take a lot for us to flood,” she said, never considering a mudslide. At the time, Parker and his sister, Jemma Bailey, were with her and her husband when the mudslide struck. “The walls just started moving,” Donna recalled. She was briefly trapped but managed to escape and was rescued quickly.
“The whole house was knocked off its foundation and rolled down the hill with us inside,” she described. “It was devastating.” After visiting their home post-mudslide, she lamented, “Our belongings are under that house. We’ve lost everything.” The family had lived on the property for 31 years, cherishing countless memories there.
Currently, the family is staying in a temporary home in Brevard, North Carolina, while they decide on their next steps. Although Tucker is not with them during this transition, he is safe and well-cared for.
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