NORTH LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy went above and beyond to save a dog from drowning in a canal. It was only afterward that he realized the dog belonged to a fellow deputy.
According to BSO, Sgt. Tom Watkins and deputies Nezar Hamze and Josh Stambaugh responded to a canal near the 6400 block of Southwest Seventh Court in North Lauderdale Monday morning. “We hopped into our vehicles right away, and we got over there as fast as we could,” said Watkins.
When they arrived, they saw a frightened German Shepherd treading water.
“I have two German Shepherds myself and love dogs. We heard an animal in distress – person in distress, animal in distress – and we all responded,” said Stambaugh.
Body cameras captured the rescue as deputies used animal control poles to pull the dog to safety.
“The dog couldn’t get out of the water because the bank was extremely steep, and there were rocks down at the bottom of the bank, which were slippery,” said Stambaugh. “When I was actually trying to lasso the dog at first, he was able to hold my hand. I was trying to reach into the water so I wouldn’t have to go into the water, and I was unable to get the dog.”
After failing to coax her out of the water, Deputy Stambaugh jumped into the canal to pull the exhausted dog out.
“She was very weak and very tired. She was all wet, but the [deputies] dried her off,” said neighbor Lisa Fuller.
“They were very concerned for the dog. They were very, very concerned. There was a lot of them out here,” said neighbor Syeda Gull.
Through some research, deputies found out that dog, named Shasta, belongs to BSO Deputy Doug Davis who works at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Davis and his family had been looking for the dog since early Monday morning. “I’m starting to panic and, like, calling for her,” said Davis’ daughter, Jasmine.
“I texted my husband, and I asked him, ‘If you’re available, if you’re able to, can you call Animal Control and see if maybe they picked her up?'” said Davis’ wife, Dahalia.
Shasta has been a member of the family for about seven years.
Davis was working when his colleagues found Shasta.
“So grateful,” said Dahalia. “I don’t know what our home would be like at this hour if we still didn’t know where she was right now.”
The family said Shasta managed to escape through a hole in their fence, which they plan to fix. Though Shasta has been trained, deputies said she is not a professional police dog.
BSO said Shasta is now at home and in good health.
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