March 2021 update: Before Phil Archer retired as a KPRC reporter, he was once again reunited with the dog he rescued in 2016.
Just over a year ago, as KPRC reporter Phil Archer, Sheriff Troy E. Nehls and three others rode an airboat down a flooded street in Rosenberg, Texas, Nehls was shocked by what he spotted.
Someone had tied their dog to their front porch and left her there. She was now struggling to keep her head above the rapidly rising water.
Archer and Nehls were accompanied in the airboat by photographer Jeovany Luna and volunteers Richard Allen and Jeff Shimek.
With Luna’s camera rolling, Archer and Shimek jumped out and rescued the poor dog just minutes before she would have drowned.
“This is infuriating,” wrote Sheriff Troy E. Nehls, who was also on the airboat, on his Facebook page. “These residents will get a visit from me when they return.”
The heroes took the dog to the Houston Humane Society, which named her “Archer” in the reporter’s honor. Then the heroes returned to their airboat and rescued even more stranded dogs.
More abandoned dogs brought out of flooded houses in Rosenberg. pic.twitter.com/RTIrsAZ8yx
— Phil Archer (@PhilArcher_KPRC) May 31, 2016
Archer’s owner, Mario Gallardo, told KPRC he didn’t realize how high the water would rise when he tied his dog to the porch and left her there — and he didn’t bother to tell authorities that he’d left his dog behind. Tragically, hundreds of pets and other animals died in the devastating flooding last year caused by the historic rising of the Brazos River.
Sheriff Nehls officially adopted Archer not long after the rescue. “I am happy to say the only water this girl will be in now is the swimming pool in my backyard!” he wrote on his Facebook page at the time.
Yesterday, for the first time since June 2016, Archer was reunited with her namesake rescuer.
“One year after the devastating Brazos River floods, Archer the dog continues to be a ray of light to all she meets,” Archer (the reporter, that is) wrote in a KPRC article about their reunion.
“Her survival was a small ray of good news in a bad time, and after almost dying, she is now thriving as a cherished member of Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls’ family.”
Grab a tissue or three and enjoy their happy reunion.
Protect Your Pet During Floods
Monica Schmidt, with the Houston Humane Society, told KPRC it’s as important to prepare your pets for big storms as it is to prepare yourself. She offered these helpful tips:
- Make sure your pet is microchipped and your contact information on it is up to date.
- Have a pet first aid kit.
- Have a “go bag” with extra pet food and toys in it.
- Have a crate and make sure your pet is trained to go in it “so that they’re not going to freak out,” Schmidt said.
Photo via YouTube