Dog Fetches Woman from River



Brenda Owen was walking her golden labrador retriever Penny by the Elwy River in St. Asaph, Wales when she spotted a wheelchair on the shore and a body in the water.

“I shouted: “Are you all right love?”

When there was no answer, Brenda shouted: “Fetch! fetch!” and instinctively Penny jumped into the torrent.

Brenda said: “The current was quite fast. It was obvious that the woman was unconscious and myself and the man went to help Penny who had dragged the woman back to the riverbank.

“The woman was unconscious for about five minutes and had injured herself.”

The victim, who had been reported missing from a nearby home, was taken to a hospital for treatment. Owen is proud of her ten-year-old dog.

“Penny is a very obedient dog and we’ve had her since she was a pup. She’s a local dog but this is the first time that she’s saved anybody’s life‘,” added Brenda.”

Link -via Arbroath


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Posted on May 5, 2008 at 8:14 am by Miss Cellania
Category: Animal



10 Comments to "Dog Fetches Woman from River"

  • Puddnik
    May 5th, 2008 at 9:14 am

    That’s the darkest shade of Gold I’ve ever seen…

    Nonetheless, a very cool story. Good girl, Penny!

  • Miss Cellania
    May 5th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Duh! My bad. My fingers have a mind of their own sometimes. She’s a labrador retriever!

  • Tempscire
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    Good doggy!

  • Bruno
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:28 am

    “Brenda shouted: “Fetch! fetch!” and instinctively Penny jumped into the torrent.”

    Why is it that animals always have to do things “instinctively”? Is there a “Put your own life at risk in order to save a human life” gene involved? Are all animals merely robotic automatons?

    God forbid anyone suggest otherwise.

  • Miss Cellania
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:33 am

    bruno: true. I’ve also noticed that people, including journalists, use words like “instinctively” without considering what they really mean. It would be near impossible to determine Penny’s thought process in that instant.

  • fsmarch
    May 5th, 2008 at 11:29 am

    Instinctive or not, Penny is still a damned good dog!

  • tigergal39
    May 5th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

    I love black labs. My mom was handicapped & was unable to pick up dropped items from the floor. She would say “pick that up for momma, Becky” & My Becky would pick whatever it was up & give it back to her. Becky was 17 when she went to doggy heaven & we still miss her. Now we have a new lab, Dazy & she is learning too!

  • Viola
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    Escaped from the home. hahahaha.

    Great dog, though.

  • ted
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    I wonder if the person in the water wanted to be rescued.

    And what’s wrong with saying “instinctively”? Some dogs have that instinct.

  • Lasse
    May 6th, 2008 at 6:19 am

    My family had 2-3 Newfoundland dogs when i was a child. Every time when we had a vacation at the sea, and went into the water, the dogs would follow us. They would wrap their enormous mouths gently around our arms and pull us back on the shore.

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