Shelter Dog Turned Rescue Dog Heads To Texas To Help With Harvey
1010 WINS -- Several years after being rescued, a one-time shelter dog has become a rescuer himself – heading down to Texas with his handler to help those affected by the flooding.
Rocket is a Border Collie mix who was deployed in the wake of Hurricane Harvey with his handler, Mike Stornetta, with the Windsor Fire Protection District in California.
According to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, this marks Rocket and Mike's second deployment together.
They've been partnered since August 2014 and Rocket was first deployed last year following a plane crash in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Back in 2012, when he was living at the Sacramento SPCA's shelter, Rocket failed the tests to become a search and rescue dog.
In fact, Rocket had so much energy, he was thought to be unadoptable and was even slated to be euthanized.
But Andrea Bergquist, a volunteer with the Search Dog Foundation, saw something in Rocket and decided to bring him home.
Rocket was tested again the following year and passed with flying colors -- starting him on the path to becoming a search dog.
The Sacramento SPCA posted about Rocket online, saying: "Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy and we hope Rocket can help make a big difference!"