Recovered dog helping family cope with loss
In a tragic story out of Florida, a recovered dog is providing a lone note of solace to a grieving family.
Barney, a Vizsla, was jogging with his owner, Donna Chen, a mother of three, when she was killed by a drunk driver.
Somehow, Barney ended up in the Gulf of Mexico after the accident, where he was found by a kayaker, about a half mile offshore from Sarasota.
“I thought maybe he had fallen off a boat or something” Rory O’Connor told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News. “I knew it was probably trouble, because you know, he was coming straight toward me and he had a look of terror in his eyes.”
O’Connor, of Bellingham, Wash., inadvertently recorded the rescue and put it on YouTube, before knowing anything about the rest of the story:
Through his microchip, Barney was reunited with the Chen family, members of which say his presence is helping them through the grief.
“This is our one piece, our one link to Donna,” said Chen’s sister-in-law, Colette MacPhail. “For Barney, he’s going to have his own adjustments. He’s just a piece that came back for us.”
Posted by jwoestendiek January 13th, 2012 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animals, barney, dog, dogs, donna chen, driver, drunk, fishing, florida, found, grief, gulf of mexico, kayak, kayaker, killed, lost, mourning, pets, recovered, rescue, rescued, rory o'connor, sarasota, saved, swimming, vizsla
Comments
Comment from Joey
Time January 17, 2012 at 11:51 am
Wow! Thanks for following up on that John
Comment from Tina
Time January 13, 2012 at 11:34 am
Sure wish Barney could talk and tell us the whole story. How did he end up in the Gulf??
At least he was a good judge of character. Thank you Rory for rescuing a soul in need!
PS – I want a kayak like that!!