If you haven't heard of Hurricane Harvey then you've been in a coma for the past week. The storm has been doing its best to wash the Texas Gulf coast off the map and animals everywhere are being affected. So it should come as no surprise that Harvey freaked out Otis, a mixed-breed dog in Sinton, Texas enough that he bolted from his home in terror.
Image via Facebook
Otis, a brown German Shepherd mix, had been left at home in a screened-in back porch with plenty of food and water. At some point he apparently freaked out and burst through the screen door as Harvey made land fall on Friday night. His family called and hunted for him to no avail, but all was not lost. Otis was spotted by Tiele Dockens when she was checking on homes in her neighborhood on Saturday morning. She caught this now famous photo of Otis walking down the street carrying a big bag of dog food. She posted the photo on her Facebook page and it quickly went viral as a visual representation of the tough, self-reliant Texas spirit.
Image via The Washington Post
Otis was several miles from home and Dockens thought he looked like a dog on a mission. She followed the dog to make sure that he wasn't lost or stray and ended up following him all the way home. Otis is now back home with the Segovia family and his 5-year-old owner, Carter. Salvador Segovia, Carter's grandfather, said that the wet dog walked up to the front porch, dropped the bag of food, and lay down on the floor. His mission was complete and he knew his family had food.
Image via Facebook
"Otis can go to Dairy Queen and he can get a hamburger. He's the only dog allowed to lie down in front of the county court house," Segovia said. "He also goes to H-E-B (the grocery store). He's not a stray. He's a good dog."
Image via The Washington Post
It is unknown where Otis picked up the dog food. Overnight he went from being a popular personality at the local Dairy Queen to being the nationwide symbol of determination in the face of adversity.
Flooding continues in southern Texas and up to two more feet of rain is expected to fall by the end of this week. May all of the animal stories have as happy an ending is this one.
Sources: The Washington Post, The Blaze, Mashable
