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Viral photo shows 'hero' dog personifying the Texas spirit amid Hurricane Harvey
Otis the dog personified the Texan spirit when he was spotted carrying a bag of dog food in his mouth. The photo has gone viral. (Image source: Facebook/Tiele Dockens)

Viral photo shows 'hero' dog personifying the Texas spirit amid Hurricane Harvey

A dog that ran away from home on Friday has quickly become a symbol that personifies the tough Texas spirit.

Otis the dog lives in Sinton, Texas, just north of Corpus Christi. Like most others living on the Eastern Texas coast, he was looking to survive Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall late Friday night. His survival looks a little different than humans, however, and a photo showing him carrying a bag of dog food has gone viral.

The story

Tiele Dockens was inspecting damage in her neighborhood Saturday morning when she spotted Otis strolling down the street with the large bag of food in his mouth, according to the Huffington Post. That's when she posted the photo to Facebook.

"This dog is walking around Sinton TX carrying a entire bag of dog food with him. LOL," she wrote on Facebook, adding the hashtag "#refugee."

Texas spirit

Texas is known for being tough and self-reliant. Many thought the photo showed that even Texas dogs personify that spirit.

"Must be a Texas dog cause he can survive without help," one commenter wrote, the HuffPost noted.

Otis, the local celebrity

Otis is a German Shepard mix, Salvador Segovia told the Houston Chronicle. The dog belongs to his five-year-old grandson, Carter.

"Otis is an all around special dog, Segovia said. He's been instrumental in helping comfort Carter following numerous hospital visits for seizures and asthma. Otis is also a local celebrity," the Chronicle reported.

In addition, Segovia told the Chronicle that Otis is a "local celebrity."

"Otis can go to Dairy Queen and he can get a hamburger. He's the only dog allowed to lie down in front of the county court house," he explained. "He also goes to H.E.B. He's not a stray. He's a good dog."

Harvey, though now just a tropical storm, continues to ravage Texas. Up to two feet of rain has already fallen on some areas, which are expecting an additional foot or two of rain. The result is historical flooding. At least five people have died because of the storm so far.

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