Volunteers rescued a tagless pitbull, appropriately named “Harvey,” after a video of the dog stranded on top of a vehicle surrounded by floodwater in Houston went viral.
On Monday, a video of the stranded dog went viral after several rescuers threw in the towel on their attempt to collect the dog. Terrified, puzzled, and freezing, the dog became aggressive toward anyone who attempted to touch him in order to remove him from the top of the vehicle.
In the viral video, at least four rescue boats pulled up to the vehicle in an attempt to rescue the stranded pup from the floodwater. Unsure of what was going on, the dog lashed out at everyone and everything – even those who attempted to save him. After several attempts, many volunteer rescuers gave up on saving the dog.
Two volunteer rescuers were unwilling to leave the dog behind.
For two volunteer rescuers, however, leaving the terrified pup stranded on the top of the vehicle was not an option. After several failed attempts and some creative thinking, one of the rescuers realized he had a pack of jerky tucked in his pocket. According to CBS11, the rescuer used the beef jerky to lure the frightened dog from the top of the car to the boat.
The dog now waits to return to his home.
People affectionately named the dog “Harvey.” At this time, rescuers are not sure whether the hurricane separated the dog from his family, the family abandoned the dog, or the dog was a displaced stray. The two men who brilliantly rescued the dog, however, noted their intention to adopt if the dog’s owner does not come forward.
This pitbull is one of many animals volunteers have assisted in rescuing.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, displaced people are not the only ones who needed to be rescued from the floodwaters. Volunteers have also been hard at work pulling stranded pets from the floodwaters, as well.
In a separate viral video on Facebook, a Houston cowboy worked to rescue stranded horses. The video shows the cowboy leading several horses to safety. People have viewed this Facebook video 12 million times, shared it more than 230,000 times, and reacted to it nearly 30,000 times.
In the comments, people praised the cowboy for risking his own safety while working to save the horses from the flood.
Some pets provided comfort during this time of tragedy.
According to CNN, pictures of a dog named Otis carrying a bag of dog food in his mouth while walking down the street also went viral. This photo of a dog’s will to prepare and survive provided people with a reason to smile in the wake of tragedy.
Considering all the tragic videos and photos of pets stranded and afraid because of the floodwater, many found comfort in the uplifting picture of Otis and his dog food.
The hurricane also displaced wildlife, such as fire ants and alligators.
Pictures of clusters of fire ants floating on the floodwaters have begun to spring up on social media. People also started to share photos and videos of gators swimming up and down the flooded streets of Houston.
Officials encourage those who attempt to rescue displaced animals to use caution as – like Harvey the dog – these animals are frightened and may become aggressive as a result of their fear.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
