I just got off the phone with George (G. Newbern "Geo") and he had some terrible news.  His 12 year old pointing Labrador, Stella, was killed when a large pine toppled on top of her when Valdosta was squarely hit by Idalia.  One of his sons was able to reach the kennel; neither George nor Emily could make it through the debris field.  Stella was still alive, pinned underneath the massive tree and the only thing that could be done was for his son to put her down with a revolver.  He couldn't leave her under the tree with these conditions.  Most likely she would have died from crush injuries which instantly kill when the crushing object is removed from the body.  George said his yard looks like a lumberyard with felled trees that crushed his garage and damaged his roof. Power has not been restored to his neighborhood.   Valdosta (Lowndes County) was one of the two Georgia counties with the worst damage as Valdosta sits just above the line with Florida.   There was nothing to be said to him to make any of this better.  Gil

That is terrible news

Oh, just terrible news. So sorry for your loss George.

I am so sorry to hear this. The news of the damage from the storm was bad enough, but the loss of a good friend like his Lab Stella was truly terrible indeed. My prayers go out to Geo and all others who lost property or loved ones to this storm.

Sad way to lose a dog. My condolences to Geo and family. No matter how many seasons I get with a dog, one more is always my goal.

Best,
Ted

Ted's right, that's heartbreaking. To have everything else torn up and then to lose your dog like that....damn shame.

Hang in there Geo, sorry to read that so many things have been dropped on your's and your family's plate. Take care.

That is really crappy. So sorry George. And thank you Gil for letting us all know.

Sorry George.

Sorry to hear this George. Stay strong. I grew up in Gainesville and know Valdosta and that area well. it looks like it hit right on the Suwanee river swamp area then traversed up just west of the Okefenokee....Perry, Florida got hit hard - I have cousins who have lived there for 130 years - and then Valdosta. Wish there were something we could do other than prayers and sympathy. Gene

That's a shame. So, sorry to hear that. I go through Valdosta several times a year. Good luck, George. Our thoughts are with you. Jimmy

Thanks for letting us know, Gil. Saddened to hear that George lost so much. Prayers for all who were badly affected by the storm, and for those making the repairs to restore power to all.

I was very concerned about our standing 617 acres of field corn, which is ready to be harvested. We did some ride-bys of a few fields yesterday morning and see no apparent blow-down damage. We did receive about 5-6" of rain, and gusty winds, but the corn fared well, it seems. Power was out for about 8 hours at our home. Screven County, which my local EMC also serves, has hundreds of outages still, maybe thousands. Linemen have been brought in from outlying EMCs that weren't affected by the storm to assist local EMC's linemen in repairs and power restoration. Pray for the linemen please, it is a very dangerous job restoring power after a major storm.

Was hoping Savannah didn't get hit too badly, Gil. Hoping the intensity of the winds had diminished somewhat as Idalia traveled inland across the state before reaching y'all.

Oh my, what terrible news for a gunner/ dog man..... My sympathies to all involved.

So sorry to hear that, what a horrible way to go. My sympathies.

Just awful.
Very sorry for you.

Stan, we were lucky, again. Other than short lived power outage from 430 pm until 130 am, that was it. A lot of limb falls and a few uprooted large trees, but no catastrophic damage. We were on the east side of Idalia and while we had some high gusts, rainfall was not extreme as it was on the west side. Statesboro had 12" of rainfall. Gil

i sure hate to hear that. terrible for all of you .

Thoughts and prayers are with you during these tough times

Just got off the phone with George. Tree crews have removed fallen trees and blue tarped his house roof to prevent further water damage. He has no power but Ga. Power texted him to expect power by tomorrow. The tree crew is from Alpharetta (above Atlanta) and removed 4 large fallen trees. The tree that fell on Stella was a water oak, not a pine. I told him of the outpouring of concern from board members and he is appreciative. Aside from losing Stella, he feels lucky that it wasn't worse. He said that Keith, another Valdosta resident board member-67galaxy-had 16" of water flood his home. Gil

It was awful. Still is. Water up to my knees in the yard. Over my feet in the house. Trees down everywhere. A lot of people still without power. The worst part is Stella. She was a 12 year old lab until she saw GEO. Then she turned into a 12 month old and what a hunting drive! She was special for sure.

Keith, I like everything you said excepting the flooding in your home and the trees down and power outage. Gil

Glad to hear that you're okay, 67 galaxie. Good luck!!

Just got internet back. Thank you to Gil for mentioning this calamity due to Hurricane Idalia. And thank you to all for the expressions of sympathy from my friends here on Doublegun. The damage from the storm is all just a part of life except for the loss of my dog. That hurts...Geo

I can't imagine how it hurts, but I sure do feel bad for you and yours. No one should have to lose a dog that way. I feel terrible for both you and your son, and Stella.

Take care and we will all hope for the best.

Prayers sent for George and his family. Bobby