Most pet owners would do anything for their pets. They consider them family and treat them like their children. When a pet is sick, they take them to the vet. When a pet is sad, they show them love and attention. And when a pet is in trouble, the owner doesn’t hesitate to help.
One man recently jumped off a bridge in Alabama to save his dog.
While some see him as a hero, he insists that he just did what he had to do to save his best friend. He has no doubt that if the tables were turned, his dog would do the same thing for him.
It all started when Al Trovigner and his family were in standstill traffic on the Bayway. His dog, River, got impatient and eventually jumped off a nearby bridge. Trovigner couldn’t believe it at first. He explained the situation:
“We’d been on the Bayway for about 30 minutes and decided that we need to get out and let the dog walk around. As soon as we did we put her on a leash, she jumped over.”
As soon as she jumped, the leash snapped, and River fell into the water below.
She started to swim, but it was clear that she needed help. She was scared and barely keeping her head above water. Trovigner explained:
“We kept on looking at her could tell she was getting a little desperate finally there was nothing else we could do; she was either going to drown or someone was going jump off and get her, so I jumped off.”
Trovigner made it to the dog and tried his best to keep them both above the water.
The dog was still scared, and swimming with her wasn’t easy. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to rescue her or if they were both going to need to be rescued.
He explained:
“For the first couple minutes it was tough, but once I kind of got the right stroke and she was getting a little calmer, it was fine.”
Once the dog was calm, he felt more confident with the rescue. She seemed to know that he was going to save her, and she trusted him. He added:
“I felt confident that I could swim. I could see the distance and I knew I could swim the distance.”
Other people nearby were trying to help him, as well.
One man threw a dog vest out to Trovigner, but it didn’t fit River. Eventually, he was able to swim with her over to the boat ramp and get them both on shore. The EMS was waiting and treated them both.
Trovigner has no regrets about his rescue. He loves River, and she has been with his family for three years now. When asked if he would jump off the bridge to save his dog again, he said:
“Yeah, yeah, as long as I didn’t die.”
While most dogs can swim, they can’t always swim for long periods of time.
The dog probably thought the water was much closer than it really was, and the fall into the water probably scared or even shocked her. She may have been swimming out of instinct, but she had no way of knowing which way to go to save herself or get out of the water. Eventually, she would have become exhausted and drowned.
While Trovigner may have been a little crazy to jump off a bridge, most pet owners can relate to his feelings and would have likely done the same thing to save their own pet.
Hopefully, the Trovigner family will be able to get a stronger leash for River and keep her in the car and away from bridges. Nobody wants to see a repeat of this incident. Thankfully, River and her family are home together, where they are dry and safe.
Watch the rescue below.
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