By Jamie Myers, Northwest Region 

After 8 feet of floodwater left Alan’s Richmond, Indiana, home uninhabitable, he arrived at the Wayne County Fairgrounds Red Cross shelter. The only thing he had left by his side was Sproket, the Border Collie-Corgi mix he considered his best friend. 

While Alan spent his days digging through his home trying to find any remaining belongings, Red Cross volunteer Kristina Jones cared for Sproket. At the shelter, she would take him for walks several times a day and make sure he felt loved.

“We bonded,” Kristina said. “He came and just flopped down in my lap one day.”

After a month of living at the shelter, Alan learned the only housing available to him wouldn’t allow dogs. Not only did he lose his home, but he now faced giving up his best friend.

Rather than see Sproket go to an animal shelter, Alan asked Kristina if she would be willing to adopt him and take him home to Spokane. But getting Sproket across the country became a team effort. Red Cross volunteers stepped up to help and the ASPCA helped connect Kristina with a veterinarian who could examine Sproket and provide the paperwork needed for him to fly.

Kristina gives special credit to fellow Red Cross volunteer Darlene Avery, who was there from Colorado supporting Disaster Mental Health and Spiritual Care. Darlene helped make phone calls, gather information and work through the details of getting Sproket to Spokane while Kristina was busy helping run the shelter.

“She was a key player in making this happen,” Kristina said.

When it was finally time for Alan and Sproket to say goodbye, there were a lot of tears. Alan had little to send with his best friend except all his love and one ball from their flooded home. 

“I can rest in peace knowing that he’s going to a good home,” Kristina remembers Alan telling her.

Today, Sproket is settling comfortably into his new life in Spokane. He sleeps in Kristina’s chair or next to her in bed,  where she admits, “He is a bed hog.”

And Alan is still part of Sproket’s life. Kristina sends him a photo every day, and Alan regularly asks how his best friend is doing.

“I told him that we will be in contact until forever,” Kristina said.