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Lost Dog, RaeLee, Saves Man's Life and Finds Home
by: Rover 411
According to the Associated Press, Yolanda Segovia of Port Tampa, FL opened the door one morning to a neighbor, Stacey Savige, with a little dog. The dog was found at a nearby school, dirty but healthy. Without a collar or microchip, Stacey could not find the dog's owner and had to go to work, so she asked Yolanda to keep the dog. Yolanda reluctantly agreed to keep the dog, but just for the day.
Four days and 4,000 “Dog Found” flyers later, Yolanda, a mother of two and recent cancer survivor, still had the dog. In that time, Yolonda’s two son’s Azaiah age 10 and Christian, age 21 had grown fond of the dog, purchasing collar, leash, ball and bed and naming him RaeLee, pronounced “Riley”. RaeLee was getting comfortable too, dragging his new bed from the living room, down the long hall, and into the boys’ bedroom. Raelee enjoyed roughhousing with Azaiah, and somehow knew to be gentle with Christian, who suffered with Down Syndrome, along with several other ailments. He almost never barked.
Within a week, they were settling in as a family, Azaiah was away with his dad, Christian was watching a video in his room with Raelee by his side, and Yolanda was out on the port watering the plants.
Suddenly, Raelee flung himself into the screen door, barking madly. When Yolanda opened the door, Raelee ran across the living room into the boys’ room. Yolanda followed and was horrified with what she saw. Christian was slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure with blood streaming from his nose and mouth. Raelee ran to Christian, still yelping, but as soon as Yolanda bent down to her son, Raelee went silent.
Christian was rushed to the hospital, and according to the neurologist, Christian was just minutes from choking from his own blood, and if Raelee had not gone to get Yolanda, Christian would have died. Christian recovered and Yolanda decided since no one had claimed Raelee, she was going to keep him.
Stacey received a call the next morning from a man named Randy, who saw the lost dog flyer and called to retrieve his dog. After quizzing the man to ensure he was really the dog’s owner, Stacey he was ligitimate. Randy Cliff, 34, lived six blocks from Yolanda and he and his family had been searching for their dog, Odie, for more than a week.
When Randy came to collect Odie, the dog raced out and jumped in Randy’s arms, and Randy buried his face into the dog’s soft fur. Upon hearing the story and seeing Azaiah’s and Christian’s faces, Randy set down the dog at Azaiah’s feet.
"Maybe Odie was supposed to find you," Randy said. "Maybe you should keep him." And that is what they did. Congratulations, Raelee!
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