VAN NUYS, Calif.(KNX) – Los Angeles fire officials rescued a dog and its owner from the Los Angeles River Monday, as the river swelled with fast-flowing water amid a storm in the region.
The rescue call was first reported around 2 p.m. near Burbank Boulevard and Woodley Avenue, just north of the Sepulveda Dam, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The dog’s owner, a woman, was rescued first, LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart said, telling KTLA that it was unclear how the pair first got in. The woman was pulled from the river by LAFD rescuers using a rope system after she had been spotted struggling to stay afloat as the water moved at least 10 mph.
She was in unknown condition while LAFD and bystanders worked to help the dog out of the river, which proved to be a tedious task as the dog was unsure of which direction to go and which people to trust.
LAFD tracked the male dog downriver for about 200 feet, and made at least three attempts to approach and rescue. However, the dog kept biting at the rescuers, officials said.
Around 3 p.m., a concerned bystander jumped river railings and got into the water and grabbed for the dog. Both “were swept downstream,” LAFD said, before the bystander was able to grab onto a rope. He was not able to hold onto the dog as he was pulled up and out of the river.
After more than an hour of back and forth in river waters that were sometimes paw deep and sometimes neck deep for the dog, it was corralled by LAFD rescuers, approached slowly, muzzled to prevent further biting and lifted out of the river.
In a final report shared by LAFD, officials said the dog's owner did not require hospitalization, but did not disclose what condition she was in or if she would be reunited with the dog.
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