A dog saves an 11-year-old girl from the rubble after a mudslide in Helene, North Carolina

BREVARD, North Carolina – A family dog ​​that was once rescued from an animal shelter returned the favor by helping its owner save himself from a 3-meter pile of rubble after a mudslide.

Jamie Parker, 11, was at his home near Asheville, North Carolina, when a mudslide caused by Hurricane Helene left him trapped under the house in a pile of debris.

His dog Tucker did not leave his side, barking to alert rescuers to Parker’s location under the rubble. Thanks to Tucker’s persistence, the boy was saved.

“Everything started shaking and then I just fell on my face,” Parker said. He said he was uninjured apart from a few cuts that doctors treated when he was taken to hospital after being rescued.

“I heard Tucker,” Parker said. “And I heard my sister and my grandmother.”

Michael Johns, Parker’s grandfather, said the family adopted Tucker just before he was scheduled to be euthanized at an animal shelter. “The kids took their birthday money and bought a dog,” Michael said.

Photo of Jamie Parker and his family dog ​​Tucker.

(Donna and Michael Johns)

Parker’s grandmother, Donna Johns, shared her experience. “We just sat there. It was raining and windy. We had electricity, we had food, we were a little high, so we thought, “You know, it would have to be really bad.” flood it there,” she said. “We never thought about a mudslide.”

Donna said Parker and his sister Jemma Bailey were at home with her and her husband when the mudslide happened. “The walls just started moving,” she said. Donna said her leg got stuck in a mudslide, but she managed to get out and was quickly rescued.

Donna and Michael Johns’ home after the mudslide.

“The whole house was knocked off its foundations and rolled down the hill with us,” she said.

“It was devastating,” Donna said, recalling visiting their home after the mudslide. “Our things were under this house. We can’t even get to them. We lost everything.”

Donna said she and her family had lived on the property for 31 years. “The memories of this property go back 31 years,” she said.

Damage left at Donna and Michael Johns’ home after the mudslide caused by Hurricane Helene.

The family is currently in a halfway house in Brevard, North Carolina, and is considering their next steps. She said the family must decide whether they want to rebuild their property after the debris is cleared from their home.

Tucker is not currently with his family while they figure out where to go next, but he is safe and sound.