ABC11's Julie Wilson honored by Rottweiler Club for dog rescue during Hurricane Florence coverage

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — At the height of Hurricane Florence, ABC11 reporter and anchor Julie Wilson stopped reporting and did what any dog lover would do: she rescued a dog struggling in the rising water.

On Tuesday, Wilson was honored by the American Rottweiler Club with the Good Samaritan Award.

“To see you just stop where you are and take that scared dog and make sure she got out, you hit every one of us in the heart,” said ARC board member Michelle Lennon. “We just really appreciated everything you did.”

Wilson was live on-air reporting on the people impacted by the hurricane in New Bern when she came across a woman trying to save her dog from knee-deep water.

“Do you think that is safe?” Wilson asked the woman, who said her name was Tasha.

“It’s my daughter’s therapy dog. I have no choice,” Tasha said.

While Tasha went to recover her dog, a Rottweiler that had been injured, Wilson continued to report live about her surroundings, which included people floating toward safety on a boat.

“This is no joke, folks, when they tell you or encourage you to leave,” Wilson said as she waited for Tasha to come back out of her house.

Once out, Wilson saw Tasha having difficulty maneuvering with the dog through the water, and asked her if the dog could be carried.

“Can we pick this one up?” Wilson asked.

“You are OK, baby girl,” Wilson said to the dog as she carried her to safety. Tasha could be heard thanking her repeatedly in the background.

“Nobody is leaving the dog in this mess,” Wilson said. “That’s what we are doing out here.”

As Tasha and her dog began walking away in shallower waters, Tasha told Wilson that her son was still inside trying to save one more.

“They are trying to get out folks. They are doing their best,” Wilson said.