Fire fighters become mudders to rescue dog
Staff writer
A fire hose usually is used to put out fires, but one day last week it was used to wash mud off two firefighters, who crawled along planks to rescue a dog stuck in a country pond.
A trip the dog might have taken many times before turned disastrous the evening of July 4. Walking into a pond to get a drink, the animal found nothing but soggy ground. Like many other ponds in the area, the pond was dry because of lack of sufficient rainfall to fill it.
The dog managed to turn around, but became stuck, unable to move.
The dog’s owner, Tom Ash, reportedly tried to reach him to pull him out but realized halfway there that he, too, would be stuck, so he retreated and called 911.
Marion firefighters Chris Killough, Jim Davis, Landon Pedersen, and Christian Pedersen responded to a call from sheriff’s deputy Larry Starkey, who was on the scene.
Davis said the dog was about 30 feet from the edge of the pond. Davis and Killough walked into the mud and laid down two 10½-inch-wide planks to get to the dog. They crawled on their hands and knees to reach him.
“It took two of us to pull him out,” Davis said. “The dog’s four legs and lower body were in the mud, and we got muddy from the waist down.”
When they had the dog safely to dry ground, the Pedersens used a fire hose to clean the mud off the dog as well as Davis and Killough.
Ash could not be reached for comment, but a loud barking from inside his house in response to a knock on his door Tuesday revealed that the dog was safely ensconced indoors, where he most likely had plenty of water to drink.