MEET ‘THE HELPERS’ OF 2021 – THOSE WHO CAME THROUGH WHEN TIMES WERE TOUGH

British Columbians were there for each other through the year’s many crises.

Casey Guliker’s Fraser Valley hog farm was evacuated Nov. 15 during severe flooding on Sumas Prairie and he became separated from his dog Tucker in the chaos — until a perfect stranger brought them back together.

That stranger, Jordan Olsen, is one of the British Columbians nominated for CBC Vancouver’s special series called The Helpers which honours those who stepped up to support their community during times of danger, loss and uncertainty in 2021.

As the flood waters rose quickly around his barn after record-breaking rainfall, Guliker started moving his livestock to higher ground. Six farmhands and six volunteers had come to help and Tucker was placed on a flat roof while they worked.

But the water rose so fast, they had to cut a hole in the barn’s attic to get onto the roof and then climb down a feed bin ladder into a rescue boat. There wasn’t time to go back for Tucker.

That night Olsen was in Langley, at home in bed. He saw a Facebook post asking for help to rescue Tucker and immediately called up some friends, arranged a small boat and headed in the direction of the farm.

After searching the wrong property and almost giving up hope, Olsen and his friends finally found the right barn.

“I was shining my flashlight around… and I saw these two bright reflections of his eyes, [it was] just a huge sigh of relief as we got closer and he started wagging his tail,” he said.

Tucker was reunited with his thankful human after a tense forty-eight hours.