When people think of natural disasters, one thing that comes to mind is to grab your stuff and get out. A photo that has recently gone viral took a whole new twist to this thinking.
Tiele Dockens was in the path of Hurricane Harvey when she snapped this photo outside her Sinton, Texas home on August 26, 2017. People were preparing for the worst and apparently from the photos, so were the dogs.
One dog, later identified as a neighborhood dog named Otis was seen carrying a big bag of dog food down the street. When Tiele first saw the dog, she thought to herself, “‘What is that dog carrying?’ When I figured out it was an entire bag of dog food he was carrying along the street, I thought, ‘Oh, how cute! He got himself some treats!’” Tiele recalls.
Tiele shared the photo on Facebook and the rest is history. As of this writing, the photo now has over 16,000 likes and over 35,000 shares.
Some of the comments were of concern for the dog, while some thought the photo was inspiring. Some felt they could identify with the urgency to stock up with food. One common bond was that people sure had a lot to say about this scene.
Tiele wants to assure everyone that Otis is not homeless. She explains, “I had seen him a few times in town before and someone had told me he did have an owner. I just wasn’t 100% sure who it was, but luckily with my Facebook post I was able to find out who owned him within 10 minutes.”
Otis has become a symbol of courage and strength for many who are also battling the effects of the hurricane. It’s surprising and uplifting how one photo snapped at just the right moment can bring about such a response with people.
Thank you Tiele for capturing and sharing this image that so many can identify with.
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