Meet Lucky the dog who was saved during Hurricane Harvey!

by pawbuzz on in Dogs 1,926

With the waters above her paws and a leash tethering her to a pole, the dog looked on the verge of becoming a victim of Hurricane Harvey.

The mongrel was soaked to the skin and apparently abandoned in an area where every human had fled before the storm – until DailyMail.com intervened.

Photographer Ruaridh Connellan rushed across the flood water, which was fortunately not dangerously deep, and untied the dog, who wagged her tail and bounded of to safer ground.

Her name now? Lucky – although she still needs a bit more luck to come her way. Lucky was left tied up by her owners on the land where they had been living in a trailer just outside Victoria.

They seemed to have fled, as did all their neighbors.

Before: A terrified dog was spotted by DailyMail.com photographer Ruaraidh Connellan as record-breaking flood waters rose around her just outside of Victoria. Almost safe: Connellan made his way across the flood water to help rescue the dog, who was tethered to the pole.

 

Whether by accident or design, they left her tied to a post on a leash, where our photographer and reporter her found her on Saturday afternoon.

She was happy to be free and led DailyMail.com to her friends: another dog, a pit bull cross breed, two cats and a small pony.

My hero: Connellan named the dog Lucky. And when he went back 24 hours after saving her she ran up to him and wanted to play. When Connellan visited the property the next day, Lucky ran out and greeted him while wagging her tail. He brought the pup food and fresh water.

 

The pit bull cross was also tied up, but on a longer leach and on the dry land; suggesting that Lucky being tied up in a more dangerous spot may well have been an accident of panicked people fleeing from danger.

Connellan said he couldn’t sleep that night wondering if the pet pooch was OK. And the next day DailyMail.com returned to the trailer.

Just look at her now. Connellan spent the night worrying about Lucky, but when he returned she seemed to be in good spirits

 

‘I was happy to see Lucky when I pulled up to the property, she came running out through the fence and greeted and me wagging her tail,’ Connellan said.

‘I fed Lucky some food I had in my car and gave her some fresh water.’

Lucky and the other animals appeared frightened but otherwise safe, for now.

Lucky’s friends: Lucky waswith another dog – a pitbull mix – two cats and a pony. DailyMail.com has called the local animal control agency to report the abandoned animals. They are safe but will need human attention soon
Connellan called the local animal control agency to report the abandoned animals and plans on adopting Lucky if possible. But the authorities are understandably overwhelmed by the scale of the unfolding disaster.

So far DailyMail.com has been unable to trace who was living at the trailer before they left Lucky tied up. She and the other animals had been well-looked after before they left, but they need human attention soon.

Connellan would be happy to step into the breach, after forming a bond with the energetic mongrel.

Lucky’s friend, a pit bull mix, was also found tied up on higher ground. He had more freedom to roam around dry land but not enough – so DailyMail.com set him free too

 

‘I’d love to take Lucky to live with me in New York. But sadly I’ll have to wait and go through the proper channels.

‘I’m disappointed in people who abandon their animals. I feel good about what I did. There is no doubt in my mind, if I didn’t unleash Lucky from the tree, she would have drowned.’

Do you know Lucky’s owners? Email newsus@mailonline.com



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1,926 thoughts on “Meet Lucky the dog who was saved during Hurricane Harvey!”

  7. Jann Lalli Henderson

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    Find new loving owners that will love this dog and care for it!! Not leave it tied up unable to even have an opportunity to fend for itself during a natural disaster!!! Why would anyone want to return any animal to an owner like that??!!

  11. Lasiter Skidmore

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    If they thought so little of their pets but to leave them tied to poles while a cat 4 Hurricane came down upon them then they don’t deserve the animals any longer. Give the animals to people who will genuinely love them and look out for their well being.

  18. Jennifer Yo You Frazen

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    Theirs, and I am serious, I can swim and walk out of the situation, one of my pugs cannot swim, he is a double coated pug and the other can swim but she tires out quickly, I would not EVER leave them behind to die while I go to a place with food and safe roof over my head, my kids are human AND dog…if your dogs are not treated as such than don’t have them…i would rent a car take it to higher ground and sleep with my pugs there…it is not a CHOICE to be a decent human being..you either are or are not

  19. Linda Cyphers

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    so sad watching these animals 🙁 I couldn’t and Wouldn’t Leave my Fur Babies Behind . It Was Scary Here and its not over, I wouldn’t chain my babies either 🙁 Unfortunately some people were out and about and were unable to get back home when the flood started 🙁 Why I have know idea because we knew this was going to be a bad storm .I agree please find this baby a forever home They baby deserves a home where he or she does not have to be chained up

  22. Janice Stewart Monroy

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    This story reads that there was other animals there at the site also… Another dog, 2 cats and a pony? So, this suggests to me that these folks were evacuated and forced to leave them behind, or they were not there when the order was given and not allowed in the area to retrieve their pets. I am not sure about in a hurricane situation, but in the case of the forest fires in Wa state this has happened … If say you’re at work, and your town or area is given evacuation order, and you rush home to try and get your animals, or at least let your horse out of the barn, the roads blocked and you are not allowed in. This is why some people refuse to leave, but sometimes forced by officials.

  25. Wanda Jumper

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    Why? How could you leave your animal tied to die. I would stay and die with my animal. My dog is a family member. Like my child. I have never been in this situation. But, I would say you take me and my dog or I stay. I couldn’t leave them.

  42. Randee Romaguera

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    Don’t be so quick to judge.Look at the situation.They probably did not think it would be that flooded. You have to remember most people have never been in this situation.Yes the reporter has bonded but unless they are in financial difficulty the pup has an owner.They should ck to see if it has a chip

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