Trucker Gerlock traveled hundreds of thousands of miles with his dog, Holly, who came with him on every route-including his last one. While driving near Dallas, Texas, on the job, the 59-year-old Marylander crashed into a concrete column. Gerlock was killed instantly. Looking in the back of the truck, though, rescue drivers found one survivor.
Rescue workers cut the Chesapeake Bay retriever(切萨皮克海湾寻回犬)—practically untouched—out of the back of the truck, where she'd been sleeping. "It's amazing that anything survived," Sandy Nordhoff, friend of Gerlock, told The Kent County News.
Unsure what happened to Holly, Gerlock's friends from his town of Rock Hall, Maryland, made numerous calls and emails to agencies in order to find out where the dog was. Eventually, they found out she had been staying in Dallas Animal Services shelter and a foster family had taken her in for Thanksgiving. The Rock Hall locals hatched a plan to get her home.
Joe Creighton and Sandy's husband, Russell Nordhoff, both lifelong friends of Gerlock, volunteered to make the 2,800-mile trip from Rock Hall to Dallas and back, which took two days each way. The friends borrowed Gerlock's pickup truck for the road, so Holly would feel more comfortable on the journey home, according to The Kent County News.
Back in Rock Hall, some of Gerlock's friends adopted Holly. Ever since, the dog has been a town icon(偶像), making an appearance in almost every town parade.
"The outpouring of love shown towards Gerlock and Holly was heartwarming," Rock Hall resident Jamie Elburn tells Reader's Digest. "It shows how the companionship of man's best friends and simple kindness can overcome even the most difficult situation!"
