At the height of Tuesday's storm, a lot of people were trying to get home from work. A Manchester woman and her seeing-eye dog had to make part of the journey on foot, and she says she couldn't have made it without Donner.
For Jolene Nemeth and her 5-year-old seeing-eye dog Donner, the storm Tuesday evening became a frightening obstacle on the way to their Manchester home. Usually, after getting off the bus it's a five-minute walk, but the storm left them both uneasy. Nemeth says the storm sounded like it was easing up when she was on the bus, but when she got to her bus stop, the sky opened up.
"It was just...coming down horizontal rain, and when I stepped into the street, it wasn't until then because I can't tell, [the water] was over my ankles," said Nemeth. "It was very high, and [Donner] was just, you could hear her paws almost swimming, you know, just sloshing through. And she hates the rain, and she hates water."
Despite that, Nemeth says Donner trudged through the rising water at the crosswalk, guiding her. Donner tried to take shelter under a tree, but Nemeth says she knew that was a bad idea as she heard thunder booming above.
"It was scary. It was explosive thunder. I've never been out in anything like that before," said Nemeth.
Nemeth says she tried to take shelter under an awning by some mailboxes but that Donner refused to go that way.
"I could only guess the water was deeper there because that's where a lot of ice collects in winter, so I said, 'I'm going to trust her' and went across the driveway that was ankle deep again," said Nemeth.
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Donner started leading Nemeth to her closer old apartment unit and they managed to find shelter under an outdoor covered hallway. They both waited until the thunder and rain stopped and then made it safely back home. Nemeth says she couldn't have made it without Donner.
"She made the best choices, and that's what it's about. I had to encourage her. She had to encourage me at one point," said Nemeth. "If I hadn't had her to warn me, 'Hey, this is what's going on. This water is too deep. I'm not going this way,' I would have been out there wandering around for a long time if I just had a cane."
Nemeth says reaching their front door that evening was a huge relief, and that she's proud of Donner. She says they don't have an owner/pet relationship, they have a partnership.
"We made it together, and that's how every day is. We make it together," said Nemeth.
Nemeth says when they got home Donner got a big treat for dinner as a thank you for her hard work.
