Corg i Canal Rescue

Giving Thanks To A Total Stranger

By Virginia McGregor

While I recently shared a true story about the rescue of a German Shepherd from drowning in an Arizona canal, this is the “tail” but true, though it may be hard to believe, of a desperate need to save my own pups from the same canal. Beware of the dangers these open waters can present.

A cool summer breeze refreshed my two corgis and me as we enjoyed our Sunday walk down a dirt road bordered by an Arizona canal and a large alfalfa field. Vultures soared in the thermals high overhead. No one else was in sight. I considered unleashing my two dogs, who always stayed near me in this open area.

As I glanced around, I caught movement in bushes not far away. Were coyotes roaming this morning? A disheveled man wearing a black trench coat and pushing his bike emerged from behind the shrubbery. My safety defenses kicked in .”avoid this stranger.” leashes to let them run.

Was the man still headed our way? I prayed he was riding along the street. As I searched the field, I realized he had gained on us, and he would catch up if we didn't hurry.

Suddenly—splash! No dogs beside me. I looked to see Griffith swimming in the dark canal water. Pebbles seemed suspended in the air as she leapt in after Griffith, almost landing on top of him.

I froze. What just happened? My two dogs paddled near each other as they attempted to fight the current. Desperate, I searched the canal’s concrete wall for steps down to the water. If I found the steps, I could haul them out from the bottom step.

My diving duo looked up. Fearful brown eyes signaled second thoughts about being so far away from me. If I jumped in, could I save them both? Where were those steps?

The stranger had caught up to me. I yelled at him, “Hey, I need help! Run to the road and get help! My dogs jumped in the canal. They’ll drown if I can’t pull them out. Hurry!” the rough, sloping canal wall. I felt his hand grab my ankle. I looked over my shoulder to see him kneeling, holding onto the post, and stretched out to support me from falling into the water.

“Come, Griffith!” He swam over to me, but the current kept moving him away. Pebbles paddled nearby. I grabbed Griffith’s collar and pulled him alongside me up the wall. He gripped the rough concrete and clawed toward the top as I gave him a final push.

I turned back to the smaller corgi. “Pebbles, come, girl.” A little wave washed over her face. After I missed my first reach, she swam closer. I held on to her fur with the collar and pulled her body up beside me. She struggled to the top as I pushed on her bottom.

A hand pulled on my ankle as I crawled backwards up the concrete wall. Struggling to stand, I attached my dogs’ leashes. I tried to breathe normally as I watched the stranger pick up his bike.

“Hey, thanks for helping me save my dogs. I don’t know why they jumped in!” Without a word or glance, he slowly pedaled away.

I pulled on Griffith and Pebbles’ leashes to hurry them to the other side of the canal. Their short legs kicked up dust as we jogged faster. We crossed the bridge to the service road lined by fenced back yards. A major street with traffic was behind us, but we headed in the opposite direction towards home a couple of miles away. Except for that odd looking stranger across the field, we were alone, so I unclasped the dogs’

The man’s scraggily black hair hung over dull eyes that stared past me. I felt invisible. How could I leave my dogs to run up to the highway? If I jumped in, how could I save both dogs? Slanted, slippery canal walls trapped my dogs below. How much longer could they fight the current?

I noticed a metal gate post nearby and shouted to the stranger, “Please, hang on to that post and grab my ankle. I’m going to stretch out down the wall. If I can reach them, I’ll pull them out! Help me! My dogs will drown!”

Instead of waiting for a reply, I knelt and slowly inched on my stomach down

My scraped knees and palms burned from concrete and gravel. Dirt covered my diving duo’s drenched fur. So many overwhelming thoughts filled my mind. What made my dogs leap into the canal? How ironic that a feared stranger ended up holding my leg and helped me save my dogs.

My “fellow rescuer” never showed up again during our dog walks. I wonder if that guy ever thinks about how he helped rescue two dogs from drowning.

I am forever grateful to this stranger. Maybe I can’t stop judging someone by how they look, but I learned it is possible to trust a total stranger. W