Reporter Stops Mid-Broadcast To Save Dog from Drowning in Storm Flood Waters
When a natural disaster sweeps through a place, it reveals a lot about people. It reveals what people care about most, what they’re willing to give up and whether they’re willing to help others.
Floods, hurricanes and storms are all terrible events that destroy lives and property, but people’s true colors show in the wake of these disasters.
Many animals get left behind when people flee cities for safer locations. There are plenty of people who like to judge these actions without being in the situation themselves.
Maybe the owners couldn’t fit everyone in the car. Maybe they had children or parents to care for. There are a lot of caring people who get into tricky situations that force them to make decisions they never thought they’d have to.
But with enough warning, there are few reasons why any critters should be left behind, and there are certainly instances of owner neglect that are highlighted by disasters. But sometimes, as in this woman’s case, your animal just won’t cooperate.
A lady in New Bern, North Carolina, was trudging down a flooded street after a Rottweiler. The dog was slowly moving up the street through water up to its chest.
It almost looked like it was in a trance; It struggled against the current, keeping its head above water and resolutely plowed forward.
Fortunately, Julie Wilson, a reporter for WTVD, was nearby, streaming a Facebook Live video, when she realized what was happening.
She caught up to the dog, which Fox News reports was injured, and stopped it by grabbing it over the hips and then grabbing its collar to stop it from continuing to slog away.
Even the sweetest, mildest dog can become unrecognizable during stressful situations. Storms frighten many dogs, strangers frighten others, and wounded dogs are often nervous and may fear-bite as well.
And this was no small dog. A full-grown Rottweiler easily weighs over 100 pounds, and they’re famed for their guard dog tendencies.
To her credit, Wilson asked if the dog could be picked up. It’s unclear whether or not she got an answer, but she tested it out and then heaved the huge dog into her arms and carried it through the water.
“You are OK, baby girl,” she told the dog. “Nobody is leaving the dog in this mess. That’s what we are doing out here.”
She had to set it down to readjust her grip, but when she put the dog back down in the water it refused to move. Once she got it to shallower water, the lady was able to take over and lead the pup to safety by the collar.
TO THE RESCUE: ABC station reporter interrupts live stream to rescue dog chest deep in the flooded streets of New Bern, North Carolina. After struggling to carry the big dog out at first, they all made it back to safety. https://t.co/Tbsr5qdPl5 pic.twitter.com/Sl87T0Nntd
— ABC News (@ABC) September 15, 2018
“That dog wasn’t going to budge, it was just standing there,” Wilson said. “And quite frankly, (the woman) was just going to get hurt because she wasn’t going to be able to lift that dog.”
In general, you don’t want to move an unfamiliar injured dog — it’s as dangerous for you as it is for the dog. But this situation was unique and with the potential for further injury or drowning, Wilson decided to make the risky call to carry the injured pet to safety.
“That dog wasn’t going to go, that dog wasn’t going to walk,” she said. “The only thing we could do was lift it up and get it out so she could get out before more people got hurt in that situation.”
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