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"Let them think what they liked, but I didn't mean to drown myself.
I
meant to swim till I sank—but that's not the same thing." Joseph
Conrad (1857-1924)
The Secret Sharer ELORA,
ON (Canada) — No one can be sure of what a little pooch was
thinking when he rashly decided to leap over the guard rail into the
Elora Gorge yesterday morning. Perhaps the best insight comes from a
noted psychologist Dr. Edwin Shneidman who said, "It is not a
thing to do while one is not in one's best mind. Never kill yourself
while you are suicidal."
At any rate, "Brodie", a one-year-old standard Poodle, was
seen plummeting more than 30m (100ft) into the gorge, bouncing off the
limestone cliffs, before splashing into the swift Grand River below.
A pair of fast-acting (and doubtlessly puzzled) kayakers saved the
battered dog from drowning in
a daring rescue that ended almost a kilometer downstream where the dog was
reunited with his terrified family. Miraculously, Brodie
survived with only a cut on the face, a fat lip and some bruises.
The breathtaking Elora Gorge consists of rocky cliffs flanking
either side of the Grand River in Southern Ontario.
(Photo:
Elora Gorge Website)
"We were in shock," said Malcolm Molloy. He told reporters that he, his wife
Diane and their two children had been
walking their dog Brodie along a trail when the incident occurred.
"The dog just took off and leapt right over the wall," the
man describes. "By the
time I got to the ledge I saw him hit the edge of the cliff about 10 feet
off the river. He flipped over and landed in the river."
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According to Mr. Molloy, Brodie could be seen thrashing about in the
rapids below. The man frantically tried to make his way down to the
water while calling out to two kayakers, a man and a woman in their
late 20s. By the time Mr. Molloy had reached the bank, he saw that
one of the kayakers had already caught up with the drowning dog.
"He had managed to grab
hold of him but the river was running full-fledged," Mr. Molloy said.
"When I talked to him he said the dog had managed to slip away at
first. He said Brodie went under two or three times and he reckoned it
would have been his last time going down, but he grabbed him again."
Eventually, the soaked pooch was pulled out of the water, bruised and
nearly frozen, but well enough to wag his tail. In all the shock and excitement,
Mr. Molloy confesses that he didn't get the names of the Good Samaritans
when he ardently thanked them for saving Brodie's life.
Whoever they are, they deserve a medal for their life-saving
work. Fishing a dog out of a torrential river is no easy feat,
believe me. (No, I've never tried it myself, but if it's anything like
holding on to "Wags" during his annual bath, it's a very
treacherous task, for sure.)
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