How A Shih Tzu, It's Owner and A Lab were saved

Who does not like to take his doggies for a ride? And if you have many dogs, you would like to take all of them with you... isn't it?

We take our Shih Tzus along with us in so many occassions - for a walk in the park, to the supermarket, to our friend's or parent's place.... we just love to have these cuddly pets with us always.

But, tell me frankly, do you always bother to make sure that your Shih Tzu is safe and secure in the car? When you are in the car, you put a seat belt. But do you use your Shih Tzu's seat belt always?

Here is an incident that happened in the UK...

Tony Roman was driving near the South Hill of Puyallup with his two dogs: Jazzy a Shih Tzu and Alex a Yellow Lab.

Jazzy jumped off the seat and under Tony's feet. When he reached down to get the dog Tony veered off a curve in the road, the car hit an embankment, and landed upside down in a flooded pond. The nose of the car was under four feet of water. Tony and Jazzy scrambled to a small air pocket near the rear window.

"I remember the impact, then the cold water. Then I remember that just the thought of that this might be it for me," Tony told us three nights after the accident. "I kind of told myself 'OK this is what it's like to die.' "

Another driver saw the crash and scrambled through the water to the only door still slightly above water. He heard muffled cries for help from inside the car from a man screaming about trying to save his dogs.

By the time rescuers from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue arrived, Tony believes he and Jazzy had been shivering in the cold murky water and breathing only from that small air pocket for about 15 minutes.

"And then a light," he said of the flashlights aimed at him by the firefighters. "And somebody said come towards me so I went towards the light." The firefighters got Tony and Jazzy out of the car. But then they saw a floating baby blanket and feared there might also be a child inside.

Rescue divers from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department suited up in scuba gear and searched the murky water by feel. Deputy Brent Van Dyke thought he'd found that child when he felt a body under the front seat.

"We thought he was dead because when we found him at first he didn't move," he said. Only when he realized the "body" was wearing a collar did he fully realize he was rescuing a dog: Alex the golden lab. "Then pulled it out and started to bounce around. I was just happy I didn't get bit," he said. "Most dogs bite you when you pull them out of the water."

Alex had been trapped in the car for at least 30 minutes.

"We were all quite surprised, pleasantly," said Let. Adam Rosenlund from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue.

(Source: www.bakalo.com)

So, the next time you are taking your Shih Tzu out in your car, make it sure that you keep it safe and secure and only then start driving.