Sheriff’s deputy rescues pooch in trouble
A newcomer to the island, Kathy Green had become fascinated by the manatees that frequented a canal near her Bokeelia home, but never imagined that viewing the sea cows could lead to near disaster.
“Just after lunch time on Saturday, I decided to walk with my dog Belle, down to the canal to see the manatees. Before moving to the island, I had never seen manatees and was amazed by them. When we got to the canal, I noticed a smaller manatee that seemed to be distressed and the other manatees were circling around it making all kinds of strange noise,” Green said. “Before I knew it, Belle had jumped into the water and it wasn’t long before I could tell she was in trouble.”
According to Green, her 6-year-old, 150-pound labrador retriever is afraid of water and is not a strong swimmer.
“I knew I couldn’t get her out of the water by myself because I have a bad shoulder and there is no ladder on the seawall, so I called 911,” Green said. “In minutes an officer from the Lee County Sheriff’s Department arrived to help. He told me he had only been a couple of blocks away when he heard the call.”
Green said the officer had told her that he had recently assisted in a dog rescue in North Carolina before relocating to Lee County.
“He said that the dog he helped rescue before had fallen in a well and I could tell he was not about to let my dog drown,” Green said. “Right away he laid along the sea wall and held Belle’s head out of the water until help arrived. If it wasn’t for Officer Morales I am sure Belle would have drown and I cannot thank him enough. He was just wonderful and did an outstanding job.”
The officer first to respond was Deputy Jeffrey Morales who sensed the urgency of of the situation.
“When the call came in I was only about two miles away and being a dog lover, I responded right away. When I got there, the dog owner was screaming that her dog was in the canal and drowning. When I saw the dog I knew right away she was in trouble. You could see the distress and fear in her eyes. Even though I am in pretty good shape, I still was unable to lift the dog out of the water so I laid down and grabbed her front paws and held her head out of the water,” Morales said. “After about 15 minutes, my arms began to get pretty tired so I asked the dog owner to hold my radio to my mouth and I told the other officer in the area to speed it up and get here because at this point the dog was clinging to life and I needed help quick.”
The next officer to respond was Cpl. Joe Canfora and together with Morales, they slipped a hose under the dogs chest to keep her above water. Within a few minutes an engine from fire station 3 arrived to offer assistance.
“When more help arrived, firefighter Matt Davis lowered a ladder into the canal and then climbed in,” Morales said. “Between the three of us we were finally able to get the dog out of the water to safety. Also assisting in the effort was an engineer from the fire department, Sean McQuade, V.O.I.C.E volunteer John Clement and Sgt. William Rounsifer. We all worked together to rescue the dog and it was a real team effort. It was one of those rare days that felt so good.”
The incident took place at approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, on Bowline Street in Bokeelia.
As for the manatee, according to Green, she was told by officials that Florida Fish and Wildlife would be notified.