Family Dog Finds Their 11-Year-Old Grandson Alive After Hurricane Helene Mudslide

Jamie Parker’s grandparents couldn’t find him until his dog Tucker began barking.
A dog in North Carolina helped an 11-year-old boy reconnect with his family after a mudslide caused by Hurricane Helene separated him from his loved ones. According to a report for WCNC Charlotte by Michelle Boudin, who is also a PEOPLE contributor, Jamie Parker was with his dog Tucker and his sister Jemma at his grandparents’ home near Asheville, N.C., when the hurricane impacted the area in late September. Jamie told the outlet that he was sitting with his sister on the couch when “the house mudslided, and I face-planted into a wall, full body went flying.”

While his grandmother, Donna Johns, ended up on the roof and Jemma was in an area where her family members could spot her, Jamie was thrown into a 12-foot-deep pile of rubble, making it difficult to find him. Jamie told the outlet he felt stuck “forever” in the debris but began to see a glimmer of hope when Tucker spotted him.

“I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and my grandma couldn’t hear me. Tucker was above me, and he was barking. I heard him whining and barking,” said Jamie.

His grandfather, Michael Johns, said he thought Tucker “was going crazy,” as he and his family hadn’t realized that he had located Jamie. According to WCNC, Tucker stayed in the same spot until firefighters arrived and dug Jamie out.

The preteen believes that Tucker was able to find him because of his “big ears” and “big nose.””I think he could hear me and smell me. He was trying to tell them where I was,” said Jamie.

The American Kennel Association states that dogs’ noses are “at least 100,000 times more sensitive than humans.”

“The dog’s snout is structured in such a way that, while he is sniffing out odors, he doesn’t exhale and disturb even the faintest of scents. And the part of the brain that processes smells is seven times larger in dogs than in humans,” the organization’s website states.

Although Jamie had to be flown to a hospital due to a “condition that can be deadly,” he has been medically cleared. According to the outlet, however, the hospital is letting him and his family stay in a room together while a nurse fosters Tucker, as they have nowhere to go.
The boy’s grandfather tells PEOPLE that strangers have really stepped up to help the family, giving them a house to live in rent free for 6 months in nearby Hendersonville. “It’s good to be back in our community,” Michael Johns says, adding that “people keep offering us food and supplies.

As for his grandson, Johns says that “Jamie is feeling okay, but he’s having PTSD, so we’re going to see a doctor.”

A fundraiser has also been set up for the Johns, who were $4,000 away from paying off their home when the hurricane made landfall. “I think it’s amazing!” Johns tells PEOPLE of the fundraiser. “People are amazing.”