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Here is the cast of characters in
today's double feature:
The 2 Dogs:
"Hunter" and "Cliff"
The 2 Guys:
Keith and Mark
The 2 Rivers:
Fraser and Shoal Creek
The 2 Lives:
Ah, now it gets interesting...
In 2 distant corners of North America, we have two separate
dramas of life-or-death involving humans, hounds and heroes.
Funny how all over the world, there are 2 things we can all celebrate:
dogs who save lives, and people who save dogs.
20-Pound Pomeranian Saves Drowning Man
 NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C.
(Canada) — Keith Thorp, 66, from
Queensborough (Guy #1), was walking down the dock at midnight,
May 23 when he slipped and fell into the Annacis Channel (Fraser
River).
Mr. Thorp was unable to haul himself back up, reports the Vancouver
Sun, and in the dark, secluded and chilly waters he didn't stand a
chance of staying afloat for long. After half an hour of calling
for help in vain, the man began to lose hope.
"I was almost unconscious," he says. "I was
beginning to think I couldn't hang on any longer in the cold
water."
Enter: "Hunter the Cookie Monster" (wow, what a great
suggestion for the Dog Net's Dog
Name Generator). Hunter, a fluffy little
Pomeranian/Corgi mix was the only one around to notice Mr. Thorp's
distress. The 11-year-old pooch went right into action.
Now, before that night, Hunter's most famous trick was something
called the "whirlwind". When he gets excited, Hunter
tends to whirl around in a circle yapping his head off.
 Hunter
ran to the nearest neighbor, Mike Saunders, and put on
the yapping show of a lifetime, startling Mr. Saunders awake in the
middle of the night.
"I didn't understand what he was talking about at first,"
said the neighbor. "Then I caught on that something was
wrong."
Mr. Saunders followed Hunter back to the dock where Mr. Thorp was
still clinging to life. He successfully pulled the man out and
had him transported to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New
Westminster. Mr. Thorp was released the next morning in good
condition.
The next day and ever since, Mr. Thorp (a former singer on a ship)
has been singing the praises of his fluffy friend of seven years,
Hunter the Cookie Monster.
"He's my little buddy," the man says. "I don't
know what I'd do without him."
And there's no doubt who the real talent is between the two of them
and their "amazing whirlwind" act. Mr. Thorp says as
he sips on a mickey of Canadian Club: "All I did was fall in the
river."
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Man Rescues Dog Stranded at Sea
(Ok, maybe this one wasn't actually "at sea",
but... close enough.)
FLORENCE, Ala. (USA) — 2,600 miles south-east of where Mr.
Thorp was gratefully toweling off, a small, unidentified mutt was reported stranded on a
bluff along Shoal Creek, Alabama. Although no one could say how the
dog got there, several people in a passing boat did confirm seeing a dog
wagging its tail and barking at them as they sailed past the outcropping
of rocks.
Members of the Florence-Lauderdale Water Rescue Team rushed to the
scene Monday morning, and after several passes in the vicinity of Happy
Hollow Bridge, they were able to locate the trapped Shepherd-mix.
Mark Senf, planner for the Lauderdale
County Emergency Management Agency, was the first to arrive on the
scene with rescuers. He noted that the dog had no collar and
possibly could have been stranded there intentionally.
At first, reports the Times Daily, the dog resisted efforts to
coax him from the rocks, out of a small cave where he kept
retreating. Apparently, others had tried to get him to come out but
had given up, leaving several bowls of food on the bluff.
"Cliff", as they aptly named the pooch, wasn't interested in
sweet-talk and cautiously nibbled on the treats offered him, but refused
to get into the boat. (Editor's note: Didn't this same thing
happen a few weeks ago? See April 27: "Forgea
Rescued").
At length, they devised a plan: while fellow rescuer Brad Hice circled
around the north face of the bluff, Mark crawled up to the mouth of the
cave where the dog was hiding, frightened but not showing aggression.
"I'm gonna take you for a little walk now," the man said as
he gently approached the shaking pooch with a makeshift leash.
Perhaps that was the key phrase, because after that, he was able to
snare the dog and lead him back to the boat. Once they were safely
in the boat, the dog appeared to be happy, Mark said.
"We're coming in with another crew member," he radioed back.
The Times Daily reports that dog was taken to the Florence
County Animal Shelter.
Rescuer Brad Hice & unidentified dog breathe a sigh of
relief. The dog was dubbed "Cliff" by his rescuers, named
after the precarious precipice on which he had been stranded. Hmm,
I suppose it sounds a lot better than
"Up [Shoal] Creek."
(Photo: Daniel Giles / Times Daily)
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