Life doesn’t come without its risks, which is why it’s so important to live every day like it’s your last.
Dogs are particularly good at finding joy in even the small things – but when one pup was involved in a terrifying ordeal with his owner, staying positive was impossible.
The beagle, named Lucky, had been traveling in a car on the 1-24 in Lyon County, Kentucky, when a passing motorhome pulling a trailer veered off the road.
When the driver tried to pull back into the lane, he hit an embankment and flipped.
The driver was killed on impact. Lucky’s owner presumably then crashed into the motorhome, as he became trapped in his car, with Lucky by his side.
A Facebook post shared by news journalist Leah Shields told the story of what happened in the moments following the fatal accident.
She had received news of the story from a state highway worker, who had witnessed the scene himself.
The story began:
“We had a terrible accident on I-24 eastbound in Lyon County this morning. One fatality. I wanted to reach out and share a picture I took early on in the rescue.”
The picture shows a firefighter sitting against the metal barrier of a road, with a small beagle on his lap.
The beagle is, of course, Lucky, looking fairly somber, most likely in shock.
The post continued:
“Our state Fire Marshall and Lyon County Native, Bill Compton, while attending to one of the trapped survivors, comforted and cared for the man’s dog that wouldn’t leave his side.”
“Once the man was airlifted and the adrenaline began to wear off, I snapped this pic of an exhausted, emotional, and dedicated Bill Compton, resting and caring for the dog. It touched me and I felt I must share it.”
In a post later shared by the The Kuttawa Fire Department, a representative wrote:
“What we think is also important to point out is what is not depicted in the photo. What you don’t see is firefighters from Eddyville, Kuttawa, and Princeton Fire Departments and Stinnett’s Wrecker Service working tirelessly to free those trapped inside the wreckage.”
The department wanted to make it clear that there were multiple people involved in dealing with the accident, as there always is in incidents of this nature. The post finished:
“The individual in the photo with Lucky the dog wants all to know how humbled he is to be allowed to be part of the TEAM.”
As for Lucky, family members took him back while his owner focused on recovering from the accident.
This story highlights two important things: how fortunate we are to have such a hardworking team of rescuers on hand for emergencies like these; and that a dog’s love for his owner is unbreakable.
Despite being involved in a terrifying ordeal that would have most dogs running for the hills, and sustaining a small injury himself, Lucky stayed right by his owner to protect him, even when help arrived.
His job didn’t finish when his owner was transported to hospital, either.
He continued to support, and be supported by, one of the firefighters who was involved in the rescue.
You can listen to a full account of the story in the video below.
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