Dog News

Police Officer’s Daring Rescue of Drowning Dog Becomes Facebook Knockout

by Melanie

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11.30.12 Plano
Officer Eric Elliott

A police officer from Plano, Texas has become a Facebook sensation after his heroic efforts on Monday.  Eric Elliott heard a call on his radio about a dog trapped in a pool and immediately took action.

He was working on traffic detail when the call came through.  A dog had fallen into a backyard pool and had been in there for about 20 minutes, according to a neighbor.  (It is unknown why the neighbor did not step in to help – perhaps a fear of trespassing or dogs.)  The call wasn’t specifically for Elliott, but after reading the notes, he rushed to the nearby residence.

“As I got closer to the gate, I could hear the bark, and he was definitely getting tired, and you could hear the stress in the bark,” he said.

Elliot approached the tall fence and easily opened the gate.  He found the 15-year-old dog in the cold pool and desperately grasping the edge.

“He didn’t want anything to do with me,” he said.  “He turned his head away, and I just said, ‘If he’s going to bite me, he’s going to bite me, but I’m going to pull him out anyway,’ so I did and was just glad I was close enough to help.”

His photo was later posted on the Plano Texas Police Department Facebook page, captioning his daring and miraculous rescue.  On a site where posts generally receive 150 to 200 views, officers were stunned to see how popular the story had become.  About 335,000 have seen it, nearly 40,000 have ‘liked’ it and almost 2,500 have shared it.

Amazingly, even people who Elliot has arrested in the past hailed the hometown hero, and “forgiven” him for their arrests.

“It’s actually a lot of fun to be part of it, and it’s good to let people see the other side of what we do,” Elliott said.

 

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