MELBOURNE, Fla. — In a small Melbourne mobile home, there's a large amount of love between a man and his dog.
- 2-year-old Carter had returned to Brevard Humane Society twice
- New owner Robert Young trained him to fetch cell phone
- Young recently fell; Carter brought him phone to call for help
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"You're Pop's baby, ain't ya?" Robert Young says to his 2-year-old lab, Carter. "I've been trying for years to just find the right dog."
Young can't express enough how much this former shelter dog means to him. Carter was adopted twice from the Brevard Humane Society. He was also returned twice and found himself homeless — again.
"He saw me and (smacks hand) right in the middle of my chest, licking and carrying on," Young says. "Like he'd known me for years."
Then fate happened. Carter was finally home.
"He's my life. I don't know what I'd be doing without him," Young says.
As fate would have it, Young says he owes his life to Carter.
"I rolled out of bed and couldn't get up, so he came over to help me," Young recalls.
One day this summer, Young — a former Marine who's underwent six major back surgeries — fell.
The nearest help was in the other room.
"I said, 'Carter, go get Daddy's phone!' "
Young had been trying to train his dog to fetch by rubbing treats on his cell phone.
"And damn if he didn't get up and go get it," he says with a smile.
Help soon arrived. Young was going to be OK.
Two others may have given up Carter, but it worked out for Young. He wants to thank the Brevard Humane Society for calling him about Carter. Young had two other dogs in mind, but they were adopted by other families.
"He takes good care of me," he says, gratefully.
