It is a police officer’s responsibility to look out for everyone in their neighborhood, human or animal. Recently, a group of NYPD officers rescued a blind dog that had become stuck in a pond.
Sparky, an 8-year-old border collie, had a particularly frightening Halloween this year after becoming stranded in the freezing waters of Baisley Pond in South Jamaica, Queens.
Someone dialed 911. According to WABC, NYPD officers Branden Williams and Marc Esposito of the 113th precinct responded to the call. They originally waited for more help, but when they heard the dog’s call, they knew there was no time to spend.
“It was truly heartbreaking to hear,” Esposito told CBS News. “We contacted our Emergency Response Team.” They stated they were coming, but simply listening to the dog made us realize we needed to act.”
“We couldn’t see him but we could hear him crying out, so once we heard that, we knew we had to do something, we had to jump in there,” Williams was quoted as saying by WABC.
The water was deep and freezing cold, making it difficult to reach the dog.”It was shallow, but it was so uneven so you’d take a step, and then another step and that next step you just sank all the way down until you’re chest high, neck high, so it was a bit of a struggle to get to the dog,” Esposito said.
They eventually found the frozen puppy and returned him to dry land. Sparky was blind, they found after noticing his clouded eyes. Despite his tragedy, he was described as a good and friendly dog.
Officers returned him to the precinct, where Animal Care and Control scooped him up. The dog was evaluated by veterinarians and treated for hypothermia. Sparky was reunited with his owners, who had reported him missing the day before, and is currently recuperating at home.
It’s always encouraging to see people going out of their way to aid animals in need, and the police say they were delighted to assist a creature in need.
“You think to yourself, if this were my dog, I wish someone would help,” Officer Esposito told WABC. “It’s a really good feeling knowing that we saved the dog and it got reunited with its family.”
“Definitely proud of what we did, and would do it again,” Williams told CBS News.