We might be more accustomed to dogs saving their puppies. But in this case, it was the puppy who saved her dad.
Sharon Skinner was walking Cocker Spaniel Bruce, and his eight-month-old puppy, River, when he ran over a frozen fishing lake, and fell in, The Mirror reported.
But fortunately, River saw her dad struggling, and ran to Sharon. Sharon called for help, and the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service was quick to arrive. Luckily, Bruce swam to an island in the middle of the lake, and the rescue crew used an inflatable sled to bring him to safety.
Family Love
Professional dog walker Sharon said that River showed “just how much she loves her dad”. After getting the dogs all back into the car at the end of the walk, she realized that the “usually well-behaved” Bruce wasn’t there.
“When I turned around in the car park and he was gone I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I called out for him but couldn’t hear anything – it was his daughter River that alerted me to something being wrong.”
“She was running towards me and then off towards the lake, wanting me to follow. She was clearly worried and so I got her into the car and then went to investigate.
“Bruce isn’t a fan of water, normally he would just have a paddle. So when I saw him on the island in the middle of the lake, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“He was distressed, but there was no way I could get into the water to help him. So I called the fire brigade. I’d seen in the paper and on TV how they have helped save pets. So I knew they were the best people to call.”
It proved to be the right decision. They were “amazing”, she said.
Sharon isn’t Bruce’s dog mom – he has another family – but she is River’s.
Staying Safe Around Icy Water
“The dog walker had been thinking of going into the water to rescue Bruce, but thankfully she called us instead,” said technical rescue officer Richard Hawley.
“It was positive to hear from her that our warnings about being careful around icy water are having an impact. Dog walkers should always make sure that if their pet gets into trouble, they contact us straight away.
“We were able to break the ice and get the inflatable sled through the water to rescue Bruce and get him to safety.
“However, if someone had gone into the freezing water to try and rescue him, we could have been dealing with a very different story today.”
