Some stories of animal heroism don’t necessarily involve humans saving animals. At times, animals save their own kind and this is what happened to the Thanarayen family in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg one sunny day in April.
When Byron Thanarayen and his wife, Melissa, saw that their Toy Pom, Chucky, was wet, they could only think of one reason why. Melissa thought it was probably from swimming in the family pool, but Byron always made sure that the dogs swam under supervision so he did not consider this at all.
“We tried to look for clues as to where he could have wet his head. We thought maybe he dipped his head in the water, but there was no mess in the house to support this suggestion,” he shared in an interview with TimesLIVE.
The couple searched for possible reasons but still can’t find any. That’s when the couple from Johannesburg decided to look at the security camera. After watching the video, they finally agreed that it was because Chucky was in the pool, but it was not exactly how they thought.
The truth behind Chucky getting wet
As they played back the security footage, their hearts broke upon knowing what truly happened that day. While Chucky was passing by the edge of the pool, he accidentally slipped and fell into the water.
He swam so hard to keep his head above water but it was obvious that he was struggling. The tiny pup was intent on saving himself and he was not to give up on that.
Moments later, help came in the name of Jessie, the family’s Staffie who was a rescue dog adopted from the SPCA in Boksburg about four years ago. She ran to the edge of the swimming pool, trying so hard to get the Toy Pom from the water.
She kept running around and reaching out for Chucky until, after 34 minutes, she successfully pulled the pup out of the pool and back to safety.
“It was heart-wrenching to watch. We still struggle to watch that video today, just thinking of what could have happened if Jessie was not there,” Byron shared.
He could not stop thanking Jessie for her heroic act that saved the other family dog from drowning.
“Jessie is the best dog we have ever had,” he said.
Byron shared further that they were Jessie’s third owners. The previous owners had to return her to the SPCA because according to them, Jessie did not get along with the other dogs in their household. But when Byron adopted her, she immediately got along with their other dogs.
Jessie is now 7 years old, while Chucky is now 13. Although Jessie is the youngest, Byron is very proud that she is brave and helpful, especially to the other dogs in the house.
“Our dogs know how to swim but they always swim with us and not when we are not with them. They also know where the pool steps are.”
Source: Byron Thanarayen
Byron and his family have been living in their home for five years and never had they experienced something like this in the past. But because this untoward incident has already taken place, the couple will make sure it will not happen again by adding a pool cover.
Witness Jessie’s heroism by watching the video below.
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