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Nothing like a lightning strike to change your life

Being struck by lightning – and surviving – might have a momentous impact on a person’s life.

And one could certainly make the argument that for Mitch Davis, a former Hollywood executive who is now a writer and director. But in Mitch’s version of the tale, it’s not the lightning that saved him, it’s a stray dog.

“The Stray,” a movie premiering Oct. 6, looks at the true-life story of Mitch and his family, and how they cope with the long hours and stress of his life as an executive at a Hollywood studio, reviewing scripts and pitches that might be made into movies.

Christian Davis (played by Connor Corum) plays with Pluto, the stray that followed him home from school, and wound up saving his family, in a scene from the movie, “The Stray.” (Courtesy Motive Entertainment)

The last thing his stressed-out family needed was a pet to get underfoot and need to be fed and walked. But Pluto the dog, a stray, picked the Davis’ son, and the family took him into their hearts.

In turn, Pluto saved the family – and Mitch’s life. Mitch now focuses his efforts on movies that lift up people. He wrote and directed “The Other Side of Heaven” and others. But “The Stray” became a family project, with his son, Parker, co-writing the script; music by son, Christian; and other Davises behind the scenes.

Mitch talked with me about the new movie for the “Catholic Baltimore” Radio show, which will air Oct. 1, at 9:30 a.m. on WQLL (1370 AM) and WCBM (680 AM), with a rebroadcast Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. on WCBM.

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the interview live, listen to it in our archive.