RINGWOOD, N.J. (WCBS 880) — The love of an adopted dog helped a New Jersey couple heal after tragedy and now their story could help the local shelter that brought them together.
Ian Azeredo, of Ringwood, suffered a near-fatal skydiving accident on July 4, 2019.
During a nine-month recovery at Morristown Medical Center, there was one thing that brought the 34-year-old hope — therapy dogs trained at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison.
"They would come in and without any judgement whatsoever they would wag their tails," he told CBS News correspondent Lisa Mateo.
When he was released from the hospital in March, just days before the state was shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Azeredo and his wife, Linda Farkas, went to St. Hubert's, where they adopted a Lab-Hound mix they named Otter.
The couple immediately knew he was the one when he jumped into Azeredo's lap and started licking his face.
"He's a welcome reminder of the good that's out there in the world," Azeredo said.
"Life after trauma is full of uncertainties, but adopting Otter has inspired us to happily move forward with our next chapter," his wife said.
Now their story could honor St. Hubert's with a $25,000 grant.
The couple submitted their adoption story to the Petco Foundation Holiday Wishes grant campaign and it is now in the running for the top prize in the People’s Choice contest.
“We hope our story can help St. Hubert’s help more animals find loving homes,” Farkas said.
The shelter said the grant money would enable them to help more animals and more families.
To place your vote head to sthuberts.org/petcocontest. Voting ends Wednesday.