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Boston Terrier That Fell 15 Floors Now Doing Fine

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – They say cats have nine lives, but this terrier is living proof dogs have at least two.

His name is Sam. He's 13-years-old, with as much energy as a puppy.

But a few months ago, his owner Bill McCourt didn't think he'd live to see this day.

"It truly is a miracle that he could survive this," McCourt said.

A Christmas miracle – and he spent the holidays caged at the vet to prove it.

"His pelvis was broken in three or four places, and he had five broken ribs and a severe puncture in his bottom," McCourt said.

He says Sam either jumped or fell off a balcony and drifted with the wind into a Jacuzzi fifteen floors down.

"The best part out of the whole entire thing was to see him alive," dog sitter Kyle Wahlberg said.

Wahlberg was at home when it happened and he still gets emotional about it.

"I don't know what I would have done to be the one to..." Wahlberg said.

McCourt says no one is to blame. Sam is partially blind, so McCourt reasons he probably got disoriented and slipped through the railings.

"What happened, happened," McCourt said.

He's even received "get well" cards from fellow Boston terriers – some from as far as Boston, Massachusetts.

"I should start carrying around paper and ink pad and autographing the papers," McCourt said.

But for some, an autographed paw might not be enough. Many have a hard time believing Sam's story.

And to them, McCourt says it's now just a fact of life: Cats aren't the only ones who end up in hot water sometimes.

"His will to survive is obviously on his own," McCourt said.

 

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