I Have a Hero And His Name Is Not LeBron James

 

 

I have a neighbor in his late forties who drives a Harley. He has the long hair, husky build and steely-eyed mien of a fearless Viking and everyday I see him walking his dog, a Russian terrier mix named Lucky. 

Many years ago when Jerry was living in the outskirts of Houston, he found Lucky dumped in a rural field. The dog was beaten and had a bullet in his leg. Relying on his military training, Jerry used a knife to pull out the bullet, fed the dog and sent it on his way.

Every day for a month the dog returned to Jerry's house with a "gift" in its mouth, some rodent or other. At this time, Jerry called the dog Dummy, fed him some food and sent him away. However, after a month he gave up shooing the dog away, adopted him, and changed his name to Lucky.

Now Lucky and Jerry are inseparable. 

No, LeBron James with all his riches and super athleticism is not my hero. I will not be wearing his jersey. But if Jerry had one on the market, I'd buy it. 

Comments

[Angelo]

Many moons ago, near where I grew up in Pennsylvania----a relative of a friend of ours heard scratching on his door on a snowy, bitter night. It was dark out---he opened the door and a dog was standing there---bloody, dirty, maybe a bit mennacing. The guy shooed the dog away and closed the door. A few minutes later, more scratching---he felt sorry for the dog and let the dog in. The dog's eye was bleeding and it had other cuts----a fight or abuse---the guy put warm water in the tub, cleaned out the dogs wounds and let the dog soak for a while----next day took him to the vet (dog lost his eye---had to be removed). Long story short----it turned out to be a great pet for this guy----a friendly dog but extremely protective of the man who saved him and they had many years together.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Great story, Angelo. I have a special place in my heart for the neglected and abused dogs of this world.

[brandon]

Back in about 1990 or so when I was just a young kid my parents took in a stray dog that wouldn't leave our yard because we were feeding it. Dog was practically starved to death. Nowhere near as extreme as the other stories you all posted but still likely a dog that was close to starvation. Ended up being a great family pet for 11 years (through my teenage years) before he died in about 2001.