A dog in Brookfield, Wisconsin, was rescued after getting stranded in a river while running after a fox, Newstimes reported.
The incident happened on Sunday, Nov. 12th, at around 6:30 a.m. when the 2-year-old rescue dog, Linus, a Black Mouth Cur, was out on a morning walk with his owner, Lynn Jano. They were walking along a trail near Laurel Hill Road when the canine spotted a fox and immediately started chasing it.
Thanks to the swift actions of the Brookfield Recovery Dive Team, Linus was back in his pet parent’s arms after a 20-minute-long rescue operation.
Dog parent recounts events
“We were walking down and it was quiet. No one was on the trail,” Jano narrated. “All of a sudden, he just darted and he was running towards a fox and a fox was running the other way.”
According to Jano, it wasn’t unusual for Linus to chase things when the two were outdoors, only for him to disappear and return about half an hour later. This time, though, things seemed different.
Worried about her pooch’s whereabouts, Jano hopped into her vehicle and drove to the nearest police station’s parking lot. She left her car and began walking down the adjacent trail and heard barks near a bridge. That’s when she spotted Linus in the river and called the police.
Brookfield dive team members rescue dog
Luckily for Jano, the Brookfield dive team members were in a training session nearby that morning and sprang into action immediately.
“We put on our dry suits and we walked across the river with a tether on,” Brookfield dive team’s commander, Seargent Robert Pennoyer, shared. “We were able to get the dog, and thank goodness, the dog didn’t bolt.” According to Pennoyer, animals stranded in still waters risk suffering from hypothermia.
One of the rescue members, Ben Gerstenmaier, managed to get a hold of Linus and lifted him to safety. Linus’s cooperation impressed Pennoyer, who noted: “It was interesting to see that, because dogs are a little aloof with people they don’t know.” Fortunately, the pooch didn’t sustain any injuries from the chilly predicament.
A relieved Jano couldn’t help but express her gratitude to all the responders involved, saying: “Everyone cared and that really means the most to me — from the dispatcher to the police officer in the office, to the police officer who came out — and to the dive team.”
