Friday, April 17, 2009

Collinsville man saves his dog from a river, then needs rescuing himself

April 17, 2009

They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but for one lucky Australian canine, his owner is now his ultimate hero.

A (Collinsville) man and his dog – believed to be an Irish setter weighing about 45kg – had to be rescued by emergency crews in northeastern Australia early this morning after the man dove into a fast flowing river to rescue his clueless pet who had become stranded on a large rock in the middle of the waterway about 200m (600ft) below a dam wall (last night. The pair were stranded on the rock for the whole night - editor).

About 6.30am (AEST) this morning, members of the Townsville Emergency Management Queensland helicopter crew were able to winch the man – and his dog – to safety.

“I was worried that the dog might get upset when we were hanging 100 feet off the ground, but he was well behaved,” Mr Elliott said.

“He was loving it, he was acting like he was on the back of a ute. As soon as the rotor wash went up he was smiling and sniffing the air like dogs do when they stick their face out the window in the car.”

Full story at TimesOnline

No comments: