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Inside THIS ISSUE
• Travis’s Path to Physical Therapy
• 3 Family Activities for Thanksgiving
• November Testimonial
• Paying for Therapy
• Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Soup
• A Very Good Boy
In late August, the nation was put to the test after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, displacing millions from their homes and taking dozens of lives. Activists, charitable organizations, and ordinary people sprang into action to provide needed relief. Journalists, professional and otherwise, brought back stories and images of the destruction in Harvey’s aftermath. Among those stories was one dog who went viral for exemplifying that resilient Texas spirit. Otis, a German shepherd mix, belongs to a 5-year-old boy in Sinton, Texas, just north of Corpus Christi. He’s cherished by his owner, but if you talk to other residents, you could say he belongs to the whole town. Otis: Unlikely Hurricane Hero
instrumental in helping my grandson following numerous hospital visits for seizures and asthma.” Apparently Otis has a free pass other dogs in Sinton don’t have. He can saunter down to the Dairy Queen and score a free hamburger. Salvador says he’s also the only dog allowed to lie down in front of the county court house and refers to him as “a local celebrity.” He has an affable personality and a quiet demeanor. But, as the hurricane proved, Otis also had a fighting spirit. When Harvey struck, dogs, cats, and people went into survival mode. For Otis, that meant gathering resources. The morning after the storm, a woman snapped a picture of a damp Otis trotting down the street. In his mouth, he toted an entire bag of dog food, and not a small one.
The woman posted the picture to Facebook. “This dog is walking around Sinton, Texas, carrying a [sic] entire bag of dog food with him. LOL #refugee,” the caption read. The image resonated with people and quickly went viral, being shared over 50,000 times. The people of the Lone Star State have long prided themselves on their pluck and resilience. “Must be a Texas dog cause [sic] he can survive without help,” one commenter wrote online. Another site called him “the hero Texas needed.” Otis’ canine resilience was both humorous and inspirational. The most powerful images in a crisis aren’t of Air Force One or of celebrities donating millions. They’re of ordinary people — and pets — striving, surviving, and making their way back home, just like Otis.
“He’s a special dog,” said Salvador Segovia, the grandfather of Otis’ owner. “He’s been
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