Feel good story of the day. Go, Lassie, go!
Tossed from a raft and struggling to get to shore as he was swept down the roiling Roaring Fork River south of Glenwood Springs over the weekend, 9-year-old Ryan Rambo was yelling for help and needed a hero.
It came in the form of a yellow Labrador retriever. Zion - not yet 2 years old and decidedly untrained, according to his owner - swam out to the frightened Glenwood lad and returned to shore with the youngster clinging to his collar.
"He was scared. He said he didn't know if anybody knew he fell in the water. He thought he was out there pretty much by himself, and then here comes this dog," said Ryan's mother, Deana. "It was just unbelievable."
Chelsea Bennett, 13, was playing with Zion at the water's edge when Ryan bobbed past in the currents shouting, "Help!" The dog "usually doesn't go into the river until someone throws a ball or a stick," said Chelsea's mother, Robin. "I think the dog sensed something was wrong and went out there. The dog isn't well-trained, I can tell you that."
The heroic episode began Sunday afternoon when Rambo family friend Kevin Doran, 47, invited the second-grader to join him on a promised raft trip during the height of the spring runoff.
Shortly into their journey, Doran reported, the raft struck a submerged log and flipped on a rock, tossing them into the water. "I wasn't really thinking that much. I was just trying to crawl back into the boat," said Ryan, who was wearing a life vest. "The water was very cold, and I was trying to swim."
When Doran surfaced, he could not immediately find Ryan. He swam to shore and flagged down a passing motorist to call for help. A short distance downstream, Deana Rambo waited for the duo at their pullout spot and saw the overturned raft floating by. "Needless to say, my heart just stopped," she recalled.
Running upstream along the bank, she encountered a police officer who confirmed that he was looking for a missing boy in the river. Over the next hour, she joined the search for her son, fearing the worst. "I'm thinking that he's dead because they won't tell me anything. It was horrible," she said.
Finally, word came over the police radio that searchers had spotted Ryan walking with Chelsea and Zion toward a footbridge about a half-mile downstream from where he was lost. Dragged ashore by Zion, Ryan was shivering from his estimated 20 minutes in the water, and Chelsea sat him in the sun- warmed sand of a little beach and covered him with a wrap before seeking help. "I was happy I was there and could help," Chelsea said.
When she returned home, she didn't mention the incident to her mother until a sheriff's deputy knocked on their door. "I think she was a little embarrassed by it," said Robin Bennett. "I'm very proud of her."
On Tuesday, Ryan sent a bouquet of flowers to Chelsea and brought gifts to Zion.
Meanwhile, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said some commendation is in order for both Chelsea and Zion. "I've never heard anything like that before," he said, crediting Zion with saving the boy's life. "It's awesome."
The Rambos, who moved to Glenwood from Marrero, La., last fall after Hurricane Katrina damaged their home, had a similar yellow Lab that they had to relinquish to an acquaintance when they moved into a rental property. "He said it looked just like Zoe," Deana Rambo said of her son's hero. "It was so cool."
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 15:56 Comments ||
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#3
IIRC, Labs as a breed were supposed to be strong swimmers, and during the 19th century were trained as water-rescue dogs... lots of sentimental Victorian paintings to this effect. Zion's native instincts kicked in, and he did what his ancestors were bred to do.
My close neighbors have a rat terrier, who in all her pampered and sheltered indoor life had never, ever seen a rat, until the day they let her loose in the garage, where two roof-rats had taken up residence. She purposfully hunted them both down, and slaughtered them, quite neatly and effeciently... and my neighbors realised just exactly why they were called "rat" terriers.
#4
Yes, Labs = Labrador Retrievers. Originally bred to haul in fishing nets in cold seawaters off Newfoundland, and to rescue fishermen swept overboard.
BTW, here's a pitch for breeding to the breed standard. Labs are NOT supposed to be the big, leggy things that a lot of backyard breeders turn out, or those turned out for "upland bird hunting". It defeats the purpose of the breed. They need to be stocky, more compact animals so that they can swim and haul things powerfully, be able to climb into and jump out of dories easily etc.
Those "breed standards" that serious breeders aim for really do describe the ideal dogs for the breed's purpose in most cases ....
#5
Sgt. Mom is right about the instincts being there in many dogs.
Case in point: a Best in Show winning female Whippet (think greyhound, only a tad smaller) was lost at JFK airport in JANUARY. We're talking elegant racing style hound, no warm fur, little body fat -- and in this case, born and raised and used to southern California weather.
She is still alive in the region, spooked and avoiding people, but living off of rabbits and other small mammals she's been catching. A so-called "pampered show dog" from a long line of show dogs, but she can still catch rabbits like her ancestors were bred to do.
And close relatives of hers are Field (coursing) champions as well as a Show champions. Neat dogs.
#6
All I know is Labs love pot - in college one of my roommate's girlfriends gave him a black lab puppy. We came home from school to find all 18 plants torn to shreds and scattered through our rented house....damn
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 17:28 Comments ||
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Terrified drug dealers committed a serious error by calling police for help with their hallucinations.
A group of friends were partying on drugs when they saw a group of tiny, white men coming up out of the fjord. This terrified them so much they rang police to ask for protection, newspaper Bergensavisen reports.
Police responded to the call from a cabin in Fusa. They found no little white men, but rather three confused Bergen residents and a pile of drugs.
Police also found the three-year-old daughter of the woman present at the Fusa party, so child services was called and the cabin and the homes of two of the callers searched, Bergensavisen reports.
In total police found 23.7 kilos (52 lbs) of hashish, 314 grams of amphetamines and about 9,000 flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) tablets, altogether drugs with an estimated street value of NOK 840,000 - 1.4 million (USD 138,000 - 229,500).
#1
not being long on mental capacity, mabey the Scandi's should stick to their old standby, mushrooms.
Posted by: bk ||
05/20/2006 10:00 Comments ||
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#2
A group of friends were partying on drugs when they saw a group of tiny, white men coming up out of the fjord. This terrified them so much they rang police to ask for protection, newspaper Bergensavisen reports.
Dang 'Moose that's a pretty big security breach. Be more careful.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Terrified drug dealers committed a serious error by calling police for help with their hallucinations.
