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I’m going to be honest here: I’m not a huge fan of tiny dog breeds. The smallest I like are beagles. I just have had mostly bad experiences with the high energy and constant yipping that tend to hallmark many miniature breeds.
Yet I believe that the true nature of a dog comes with its personality, so I try not to let myself judge an individual dog until I learn more about it. Recent news from CNN has only strengthened that opinion.
Rowdy, a dog from Rancho Cordova, California, recently made headlines for saving his neighbor. Despite some similarities the story might bear to the classic example of Lassie alerting the authorities to Timmy being stuck down a well, Rowdy didn’t save his master or even his master’s friend.
Instead, the neighbor aided by Rowdy was a fellow canine. Casper, a 15-year-old miniature schnauzer who lives on the same street as Rowdy, had been missing for three days. Due to his age Casper doesn’t hear or see very well, so the chances of him finding his way back home on his own were slim.
Out for a walk with his owner, Rowdy suddenly became excited when they passed a storm drain about a block away from Casper’s house. Rowdy dragged his owner over to the drain and began barking at it. Investigation within the drain revealed Casper, either stuck or too tired to drag himself out.
Rowdy’s owner ran to Casper’s house, and after checking on his dog Casper’s owner Wayne Hernandez then dashed to the nearby fire department. Despite being in the middle of their dinner, the firefighters dropped everything to rush to Casper’s aid.
Freeing Casper in a way that wouldn’t cause him further damage required some ingenuity. The rescue team pumped a fire house full of water but then stoppered it so the hose would remain stiff. They attached a teddy bear, of all things, to the end of the hose.
Then the firefighters used their makeshift device to gently (thanks to the teddy bear) push Casper out of the pipe. After freeing Casper, his rescuers bathed him to rid him of sewer sludge and then wrapped him in blankets and had him breathe through an oxygen mask, just in case.
Casper’s now fine and back with his owners, who have a renewed dedication to their dear pet. “We’ve been kind of taking him for granted, he’s been around for so long,” said Hernandez. “But we’re going to have to try to pamper him a little more. He deserves it after this.”
Although the firefighters are certainly heroes of this tale, thanks to their dedication to saving all living creatures and their inventive rescue tactics, the true star of the story is Rowdy. If not for him, Casper might not have been found in time. People out looking for Casper might not have noticed him, because it appears he wasn’t making much noise while trapped in the drain.
It’s not made clear in the CNN story how close Rowdy and Casper were. It seems they encountered each other occasionally, being neighbors, but they might not necessarily have spent much time together.
Perhaps Rowdy was just being true to many breeds and barking at any dog he encounters (my dog whines whenever we pass another canine), but he also may have sensed Casper’s distress and tried to help in the only way he could. He’s certainly raised his stature and that of dogs of his ilk in my estimation.
Related Articles:
A Really Odd Couple: Dog and Capybara
The Companion Animal Life-Care Center
*(This image by greeblie is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
