While life often seems mundane or boring, sometimes it’s better that way! When situations happen and a hero is called for, we never know if we are the type of person jumping into the action or calling for help. Only a dire event can bring out the heroes in us!
One man learned what kind of person and hero he truly was!
Don Chatten had an “opportunity” to show off his courage and skills last winter at a state park. The story is incredible and shows just how love can cause us to push past our own limits into what we didn’t think was possible!
Don was at the Bark Park at Ellicott Creek Park with two of his pups.
A “bark park” is an area that is designed for dog use! They are frequented by dog owners who want to give their furry friends a chance to run around off-leash for a while. It is a great place to meet other dog owners and allows your own pup to have some socialization time with members of its own species.
When Don went to Ellicott Creek Park, he wasn’t expecting his day to turn out like this.
It was an icy winter day, and Don was hoping to run off some of his dog’s energy before they had to go back to being cooped up inside. The three of them were at the foot of a bridge and were about to cross when one of his pups stopped and looked down in the water. Don describes one of his dogs as “smart” and the other as “dopey,” and it was the dopey one that looked into the water!
Thinking nothing of it, Don continued.
Assuming it was a duck or something, the three continued back towards the car. When they got to the other side of the bridge, however, both dogs stopped and looked back into the water flowing past. When Don finally looked, he realized something had gone terribly wrong.
Don heard a whimpering noise and saw a dog stuck in the ice under the bridge!
Letting his dogs go, he ran over to the bank and noticed a woman was standing near the shore. She was hysterical and trying to call 911. It was slick all the way down and extremely unsafe. Don looked at the woman and realized they didn’t have time for 911. He needed to act now.
Handing her his flannel and wallet, Don waded into the frigid water.
He tried to crawl on the ice over to the dog, but it soon gave way, leaving him waist-deep in the water. Breaking the ice as he went, Don finally reached the dog and took it in his arms. Turning around, he made it all the way back to the shore with a shivering body in his hands.
After taking off his shirt and putting on his flannel, he started trying to warm up.
Don was finally able to get back into his car and warm up (with the help of his two dogs, of course). Even after the daring rescue, he had no idea who the woman was! Sometimes, a good deed goes unnamed, but this time it wasn’t unnoticed. A woman holding a little black dog in her hands was enough proof of that!
Check out the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
