Smart Dogs Blog

This sweet heart is 16 years old today 💖

This homeless man saved 30 dogs from drowning. On September 6, 2022, in Jackson, Mississippi, the Pearl River overflowed after record breaking rainfall. The city issued urgent evacuation orders. But Michael Harris, a 57 year old homeless man, didn’t hear them, he was sleeping on the third floor of an abandoned parking garage he’d been calling home.
He woke to sirens and water rushing below.
Instead of panicking, he listened.
A bark. Then another.
Dogs left behind in the chaos.
Michael waded through the waist high water, pulling terrified dogs into shopping carts and makeshift rafts. He tied leashes to his belt and guided them to dry spots inside the garage. Every hour, he went back out through flooded streets, into backyards and porches, following cries for help.
Three days later, rescue teams finally reached the garage. They found Michael surrounded by 30 dogs. Shivering, tired, but alive.
When asked why he didn’t leave, he simply said, “They would’ve stayed for me.”