A plucky pup was hailed a “real life Lassie” for helping to save her doggy dad from drowning after he plunged into a frozen lake during a walk.
On Dec. 14, Sharon Skinner was walking two dogs, a cocker spaniel named Bruce and his seven-month-old puppy, River in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, when Bruce ran over a frozen fishing lake and fell into it.
Bruce had run off as Skinner was putting both dogs into her car after taking them for a walk.
“Bruce is usually well-behaved and loves getting into the car at the end of a walk, so when I turned around in the car park and he was gone I couldn’t believe it,” Skinner said. “I called out for him but couldn’t hear anything—it was his daughter River that alerted me to something being wrong.”
River ran towards Skinner and then went towards the lake wanting her to follow.
“She was clearly worried and so I got her into the car and then went to investigate,” Skinner said. “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.”
Skinner noticed that Bruce was in distress and knew that it was impossible for her to get into the water to rescue him, thus she 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,” Skinner said.
The fire crew was able to break the ice and get an inflatable sled through the water to rescue Bruce and move him to safety.
“The rescue team was amazing,” Skinner said. “I was in such a panic I wasn’t functioning properly and couldn’t tell them where I was.”
However, they were still able to locate Skinner.
Upon seeing the rescue team Bruce was unsure about going toward strangers and thus instead headed back into the water.
“However, they grabbed him and gave him a warm cuddle as they brought him back—I think he was just as relieved as me,” Skinner said.
Although Skinner has been a professional dog walker for the last five years, this is the first time she has faced such a situation.
Skinner admits that she has a really soft spot for Bruce and has been walking him for his family for the past five years.
“His daughter River is my dog,” Skinner said.
Skinner is grateful for the efforts of the fire crew and River in helping with the rescue.
“Every dog is special, but River showed just how much she loves her dad when she pointed me in the right direction,” Skinner said.
Fire station manager Richard Hawley praised Skinner for calling the fire service instead of going in herself to rescue Bruce and potentially putting herself at risk.
“The dog walker had been thinking of going into the water to rescue Bruce, but thankfully she called us instead,” Hawley said. “It was positive to hear from her that our warnings about being careful around icy water are having an impact.”
Hawley advised that dog walkers should always make sure that if their pet gets into trouble, they should contact them immediately.
“We were able to break the ice and get the inflatable sled through the water to rescue Bruce and get him to safety,” Hawley said. “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.”
