Authorities rescued a German shepherd who was seen in distress in a canal in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, and now they hope it’s just happy tails in her future.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said they were able to rescue the “super sweet” pup from the waterway at 423 Northwest 23rd Street in Fort Lauderdale at around 7:45 a.m.
“The caller said that a loose dog who had been roaming around ended up in a canal and couldn’t get out,” fire rescue said. “Our Engine 47 responded and safely grabbed her from the canal.”
Video shows first responders quietly comforting the nervous dog as she stands in a shallow part of the water. Then, Lt. Mason McConchie lifts her out of the canal and onto a concrete platform. She whimpers a bit in the air, and tumbles once her feet touch the ground. Another first responder steadies her.
“It’s just the right thing to do. We had to get this dog out of the water, and it really wasn’t a big deal. There was a little ledge there so I didn’t have to dive in the water or anything, I just had to take my shoes off, go down and grab her out,” McConchie said. “I’m sure a few minutes before we got there, she was probably on the brink of drowning, but glad we didn’t have to see that.”
Rescue personnel fed the canine, gave her clean water and took her back to the fire house to rest.
It’s unclear how long she had been in the water or how she came to be there. But other than an injury on her tail, she seemed to be OK.
The German shepherd did not have a collar or other identification, but she was microchipped. Authorities were able to scan that and contact a previous owner now living in St. Cloud outside of Orlando.
NBC6 is told that owner will be coming down on Wednesday to reclaim her.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
