Elderly Man Falls into Marina. Dog Knows He Needs to get Help
An elderly man was out for his early morning walk near the marina docks in Pittsburg, California, on Jan 24.
Suddenly, he slipped on the wet dock and fell right into the cold water. He began to call for help, though the early morning hour meant not many people were out and about.
But the man’s hero that day would not be a person at all. Instead, his rescuer would be a 9-year-old golden Retriever named Moe.
His owner, Joe Newman, said that Moe must have heard the distressed voice calling for help and knew he had to help however he could.
So around 6 a.m., Newman was startled awake by the sound of Moe frantically barking at him to get his attention.
He noticed that the bark wasn’t the kind Moe made when he saw another animal or dog, so he went outside to investigate.
“I came downstairs and got a flashlight and I heard the guy talking,” he said. That’s when Newman saw the elderly man struggling in the water.
“He was halfway in the water sitting on the rocks,” he explained. “I said ‘What’s going on?’ and he said he needed help.”
Newman quickly got dressed and ran out to the dock to help the man. He was able to pull him out of the water and brought him inside his home.
Worried about the effects of the cold water on the elderly man, Newman also called an ambulance for medical help.
Thankfully, Moe had immediately noticed that the man had fallen and started barking, so he was only in the water for about 5 minutes.
A short time later, ambulances arrived and took the elderly man to the hospital. “I hope he’s OK,” Newman said. “Moe’s a hero!”
#SayHelloToMoe !! ?❤️ @PittsburgPD staff brought #MoeTheHero some special treats this afternoon for his life saving efforts of an elderly man who fell in the #Pittsburg marina this morning! He’s a good boy ? pic.twitter.com/xhRcL3K2Vy
— Pittsburg Police, CA (@PittsburgPD) January 24, 2018
The following day, the Pittsburg police department paid a special visit to Moe at home to thank him for being a hero.
They brought along three bags stuffed full of treats for him, and their K9 unit Jager even offered Moe one of his new tennis balls.
“We are proud to say you really are a hometown hero!” the police officers said when they visited the heroic canine.
Now enjoying some well-deserved attention and belly rubs, Moe has definitely proved that he is a very good boy!
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