A dog is “doing well” after an Oil Creek caper left the animal stranded on a small island and requiring rescue from police.
Oil City police officer Joab Orr said he was dispatched at about noon Monday to the north end of Seneca Street for a report of a dog stuck on an island.
Orr said when he arrived the 15-year-old beagle mix was standing on a small patch of land in the middle of Oil Creek near the White Bridge.
As he was climbing down to the creek’s bank, Orr said the small dog went straight over to him and was swept away in the channel, struggling to stay above the water.
“I didn’t even think about it honestly, I just went in and saved the animal,” Orr said.
With snow on the ground and standing knee deep in the creek, Orr said he was able to pick the dog up from its perilous plunge.
“It was pretty cold,” he said. “It was a lot colder when I got out.”
Orr said the dog “was scared obviously and it was whimpering.”
The dog was successfully returned to its owner, who had been searching for the pet after it wandered away from his yard about an hour earlier, Orr said.
“How it got on the island, we are completely unsure,” Orr said.
On Tuesday, Orr said he checked up on the dog and “he ran right up to me and let me pet him, so he was doing pretty good.”
“I’m just glad we were there and able to get him back to his owner,” Orr said. “I think everyone at the police department would do the same thing.”
