Dog Found Barely Keeping Head Above Water Saved by Strangers and Fire Crews
A frightening situation along the banks of Stranger Creek turned into a heartwarming reunion — all because two strangers refused to ignore a faint cry for help.
Destiny Mesias and her boyfriend, Kevin Pauly, were out for a walk near Stranger Creek where it connects to the Kansas River in Leavenworth County, Kansas when they heard something unusual coming from the woods.
“I think there’s a dog over there in the woods, hurt, you know, crying,” Mesias recalled.
At first, they couldn’t see anything. The creek’s steep, slick banks made visibility difficult, and the sound seemed to echo from everywhere. But then Pauly noticed movement in the water. “He seen the water move, and he was like, the dog’s in the water,” she said.
There, barely visible along the riverbank, was a German Shepherd trapped in the creek. Only his head was above water, and even that looked like a struggle. Without hesitation, Pauly climbed down the roughly 15-foot bank to reach him. The exhausted dog was slipping under the water.
“[When I] first got there, I just stuck my hand out and tried to talk to him, and then he just whined at me,” Pauly told KCTV5 News. “So I got down and felt comfortable putting the strap all the way around his whole waist.”
Using a ratchet strap, Pauly carefully secured the dog and held his head above water while they waited for emergency crews. With the help of his son, they “held his head up a little bit, we just kept talking to him as he kept trying to nod off into the water,” he later explained.
The couple called for, setting off a coordinated rescue effort. According to Riverview Rescue, the dog “was reported in the water at Stranger Creek where it connects to the Kansas River by some people out for a walk who heard his whining and called 911.” They added, “Huge thank you to our friends at Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office who responded and quickly called for additional help. Thank you to the awesome folks at Leavenworth County Fire District no. 2 who responded to assist and the amazing team at Northwest Consolidated Fire District who were able to respond with a boat to assist in the rescue. This amazing group did an awesome job and without a doubt saved this pup’s life.”
Assistant Chief Dylan Ritter with Leavenworth County Fire District 2 said crews had to use ropes to reach the stranded dog safely.
“The bank is probably 15 feet tall, so we were able to use some ropes to get our people down to the water and get a rope around the dog to get it out,” Ritter said. Firefighters estimated the German Shepherd had likely been in the water for three to four hours. When they finally lifted him out, his back legs gave out from exhaustion — but he was alive.
“It was really heartwarming to know that we were able to first execute the rescue proficiently and get the dog out of harm’s way and for the sheriff’s department and Riverview Rescue to get that canine on the road to recovery and find its owner,” Ritter said.
The dog was taken to Riverview Rescue to rest and warm up. He was found with no collar and no microchip, and staff believed he had been in the water for a couple of hours. “It’s believed that this poor fella was in the water for a couple hours so he definitely needs some rest. We’re hoping once he has rested a bit and calmed down from his near death experience that we’re able to get him all cleaned up,” they wrote. They shared that proof of ownership would be required for anyone claiming him. Then came the update everyone was hoping for.
“We were told he had been missing for two days,” the rescue shared.
Soon after, the German Shepherd was reunited with his owner. “It was really nice to be able to reconnect him. The dad was super excited. The dog was super excited,” said Levi Monahan, director of Riverview Rescue.