For Tonya Windham and her family, a group of teenagers from the Tallavana Christian Baseball team are not just some boys, they are heroes. The Floridian teen athletes helped saved Hunter, the family’s Cocker Spaniel, when the dog fell into a hole and was trapped by pounds of dirt.
The baseball team was on their way to practice when they encountered desperately shoveling dirt. Her three sons, Peyton (9), Hudson (7), and Tucker (4), were anxiously watching their mother and hoping their dog would be saved.
The mother had called animal services and emergency personnel, but at the time, no one was available to help her rescue her dog.
“We prayed that God would send someone to help and maybe ten seconds later we saw six boys walking up,” Windham told Tallahassee.com.
The teenagers jumped into action and helped the desperate pet owner dig her beloved canine out of the hole.
“Mike [Hatten] grabbed the shovel, Joey [Telk] was keeping the morale going, Justin [Johnson] and Lou [BarTolome] were getting the dirt out and I had my hands in the hole holding onto the dog,” said Jeremy Williams. “It felt like so many minutes. My heart was beating so fast and I just wanted to get that dog out.”
The boys were able to free the dog up to its neck, allowing Hunter to breathe better, but they couldn’t pull the dog out of the dirt completely.
It wasn’t until Windham’s husband, Chris, arrived at the park that Hunter was pulled out of the hole.
“I kissed the dog three times, I felt like it was needed,” said Williams. “I don’t even like dogs that much, but I saw how much that dog meant to the family.”
Lucky for Hunter, he was not harmed. The dog was a bit shaken, but he is expected to fully recover from the traumatizing experience.
The Windhams are forever grateful the hero teenagers were more than willing to step in and help save their four-legged family member.
“They (the players) gave my kids not just the gift of their dog, but the gift of showing up and helping someone in need,” said Tonya Windham. “In life we will always have those who will help us and those who won’t. We have to focus on those that will help and be those people to someone someday.”
