He Saved Tucker from a Shelter, Then Tucker Saved This Boy from the Rubble of a Helene Mudslide

A North Carolina dog is being called a hero after rescuing his trapped owner from a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Helene.

Eleven-year-old Jamie Parker was riding out the Category 4 storm with his grandparents, his sister Jemma, and his beloved dog Tucker in their home outside Asheville.

Parker told WCNC-TV when the floodwaters crashed into the home he "face-planted into a wall, full body went flying." His grandmother, Donna Johns, said the walls came towards her as the house began to slide. 

She ended up on the roof. Jamie was trapped under a 12-foot-deep pile of rubble and debris.

"It was scary, I thought I was all alone," he told the outlet. "I thought they went down. I thought my family had died." 

Grandad, Michael Johns, and Donna called out for their grandchildren. They were able to locate Jemma, but Jamie could not be heard through the pouring rain. 

"It felt like forever down there," Jamie recalled. "I couldn't see sunlight, I could feel water dripping on me and I thought I was either gonna drown or run out of air."

His only hope was his canine best friend, Tucker. Years ago, the shelter dog was rescued by Jamie and Jemma, with allowance money they earned, just days before he was scheduled to be put down. 

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Since then, Jamie and Tucker have been inseparable.

And the canine had no trouble finding Jamie under the debris. He sat on the pile of rubble over the boy indicating his location.

"Tucker was above me, and he was barking. I heard him whining and barking," said Jamie.

Michael said he thought the dog "was going crazy," that is, until he realized, Tucker was trying to save Jamie. 

Tucker did not move until firefighters arrived and pulled Jamie out. 

"Since he has big ears and a big nose, I think he could hear me and smell me," Jamie concluded. "He was trying to tell them where I was."

Jamie was safe, but had to be immediately airlifted to Atrium Health Levine Children's Jeff Gordon's Children's Center in Concord, NC for a "condition that could be deadly."

His hospital care team worked around the clock to reunite Jamie with his family, including Tucker. 

"Tucker is now being fostered by one of our nurses while the family recovers and works to find a new place to live, giving Jamie the comfort of knowing his family—including his four-legged one—are by his side," Levine Children's said on Facebook. 

The nursing staff has even spent their own money to buy basic necessities for the family who lost everything. 

Donna told WCNC-TV she was just $4,000 away from paying off her home. 

"I've been paying for it for over 25 years, and I'm just $4,000 short of paying it off," she said. "My idea was that it would be paid off and we wouldn't have any mortgage payment -- and now it's all gone."

Like many, the Johns will look to rebuild, but for now, they are spending the next several months in nearby Hendersonville living in a house rent-free. 

"It's good to be back in our community," Michael said. 

The Transylvania County Sheriff's Department and the Transylvania Habitat for Humanity are raising funds to help the Johns build a new home. 

"Please consider giving today to help them get back on their feet and regain the stability they worked so hard to achieve," the sheriff's office said.