SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A retired City of Miami Police officer said he did not hesitate before he and a neighbor jumped into a Southwest Miami-Dade canal to rescue two huskies that were struggling in the water.
Cellphone video captured the dogs in distress in the area of the 3300 block of Southwest 117th Avenue, at around 5:30 p.m., Wednesday.
“Tasha, Tasha!” a woman is heard saying as she called out to one of the canines that was unable to get out of the canal.
Pablo Arzola said he heard the commotion behind his home and ran outside.
“There were people in that backyard screaming, pointing at the dogs, ‘Oh, they’re gonna drown, they’re gonna drown,'” he said.
The next step for Arzola was trying to figure out how he would reach the huskies.
“I was like, ‘How are we going to get these dogs out of here?’ There was no way up, and it’s about a five-foot complete incline,” he said.
Arzola, also a former Marine, began searching for a solution.
“I was like, ‘Either we jump now, or it’s not going to happen,'” he said.
The video showed Arzola and his neighbor as they jumped into the canal.
Arzola said he didn’t really think about other creatures that were also in the water.
The video showed what appears to be an alligator floating nearby.
“No, I figured, with all the commotion we were creating, we would probably scare them,” he said.
Arzola said he was focused on one mission.
“Get those dogs to safety regardless of what I have to do,” he said.
With the help of other neighbors along the canal, the area residents were able to pull the dogs to safety.
The incident hit close to home for Arzola. He said he has three huskies of his own.
“Those dogs, to me, they’re as if it’s like it’s a kid in distress,” he said. “I’m in the water to do what I gotta do.”
This isn’t Arzola’s first dog rescue. Earlier this year, he said, he saved a Doberman from a burning home.
Arzola later posted the video of Wednesday’s rescue to social media. It prompted many users to call him and his neighbor heroes.
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