Friday, May 1, 2009

white dogs

Dogs are heroic. Do you have a heroic dog story that you would like to share?

1 comment:

Denise Richards Donnelly said...

Brian Mollere and his Chihuahua, Rocky, had experienced many hurricanes prior to Katrina, so Brian thought they’d be safe in their apartment above the hardware store he ran in Waveland, MS. When the first wave knocked out two of their windows, it was clear this was no ordinary storm. When another wave knocked out a wall, Brian grabbed Rocky and stepped out onto the balcony, only to have it collapse from the force of another wave. Brian and Rocky were thrown out into the storm surge. They floated down the street at treetop level, Rocky clinging to Brian’s shoulder. At one point, Brian was sucked down below the surface, losing his shoes and pants, but somehow Rocky managed to hang onto him until they surfaced. Had he let go, Brian would never have found him in the dark water. Brian stuck Rocky’s legs into the top of his Tshirt to help anchor him, and they floated down the street until they found someone’s porch that was still above water.

Rocky was Brian’s stalwart companion in the aftermath of the storm, which resulted in the complete loss of their home. They camped for many months at the former site until FEMA finally gave them a trailer to live in. Rocky became somewhat of a mascot for the entire town and their campsite became a place for people to stop by to exchange information about missing neighbors. Rocky was very generous in sharing the campsite with stray animals, including a kitten and another dog who were wandering the streets after the storm.