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Dog reunited with owner after rescue from creek | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
A chow Fort Mill Rescue workers freed from a muddy, icy creek earlier this week after the dog might have been stuck there for more than 24 hours was reunited Tuesday with her owner.
Polly was returned home to the Indian Land woman who said she has owned the dog for 13 years, since she was a little pup.
“I was so happy to see her,” Lavinia Harper said Tuesday afternoon from her home.
Polly was asleep on a bed in another room.
“She's a companion,” Harper said about Polly. “I'm old; she's old. I'm blind; she's blind. I'm deaf; she's deaf. I've had her so long that it'd be like one of the family if something happened to her.”
Fort Mill Rescue and York County Animal Control officials worked for about an hour and a half in the bitter cold Sunday night to rescue the dog from a Fort Mill creek. They were called to the scene after a resident, Cris Bennett, heard the dog howling behind his home on Fischer Road.
Polly, who was an outside dog, wandered away from her home during fireworks on New Year's, Harper said. Polly has both hearing and visual disabilities, she said.
“She can't stand firecrackers or guns,” Harper explained. “People were shooting them off on New Year's. She ran off into the woods. And she normally comes back. This time she didn't.”
Harper said Polly ran off with her other dog, a German shepherd. Even when that dog returned home alone, Harper didn't know anything had happened to Polly until she saw it on the news.
“It was devastating to see her on TV,” Harper said. “I recognized her right away.”
The creek where Bennett heard the dog howling Sunday night is a little more than two miles from Harper's home by car, but through the woods, it's probably about a half-mile.
Bennett told The Herald on Monday that Polly was stuck in mud that seemed like quicksand. He said it took so long to free her because she had mud and ice in her badly matted fur. After the rescue, Polly was treated at Palmetto Veterinary Medicine & Surgery in McConnells.
Tuesday morning, Harper picked Polly up from York County Animal Control.
“The dog was just as glad to see her owner as her owner was to see the dog,” said Animal Control Supervisor Chris Peninger. She said animal control was glad someone came forward to claim the dog.
Harper said she was asked to describe the dog before animal control released Polly to her. Polly, who wasn't hurt in the incident, will be treated further by her owner's veterinarian.
“They say Polly's going to be fine. They say she's doing good,” Harper said. “She's a sweet dog.”
Harper expressed extreme gratitude to Bennett for acting after he heard her dog's cries in the creek and to rescue workers for their efforts in saving Polly.
“I'm just thankful that the guys found her, and they got her out — That she's in one piece and safe,” she said.
Now, Polly will become an inside dog, Harper said. “I think this took the life out of her,” Harper said. “We're just glad to have her home.”
A chow Fort Mill Rescue workers freed from a muddy, icy creek earlier this week after the dog might have been stuck there for more than 24 hours was reunited Tuesday with her owner.
Polly was returned home to the Indian Land woman who said she has owned the dog for 13 years, since she was a little pup.
“I was so happy to see her,” Lavinia Harper said Tuesday afternoon from her home.
Polly was asleep on a bed in another room.
“She's a companion,” Harper said about Polly. “I'm old; she's old. I'm blind; she's blind. I'm deaf; she's deaf. I've had her so long that it'd be like one of the family if something happened to her.”
Fort Mill Rescue and York County Animal Control officials worked for about an hour and a half in the bitter cold Sunday night to rescue the dog from a Fort Mill creek. They were called to the scene after a resident, Cris Bennett, heard the dog howling behind his home on Fischer Road.
Polly, who was an outside dog, wandered away from her home during fireworks on New Year's, Harper said. Polly has both hearing and visual disabilities, she said.
“She can't stand firecrackers or guns,” Harper explained. “People were shooting them off on New Year's. She ran off into the woods. And she normally comes back. This time she didn't.”
Harper said Polly ran off with her other dog, a German shepherd. Even when that dog returned home alone, Harper didn't know anything had happened to Polly until she saw it on the news.
“It was devastating to see her on TV,” Harper said. “I recognized her right away.”
The creek where Bennett heard the dog howling Sunday night is a little more than two miles from Harper's home by car, but through the woods, it's probably about a half-mile.
Bennett told The Herald on Monday that Polly was stuck in mud that seemed like quicksand. He said it took so long to free her because she had mud and ice in her badly matted fur. After the rescue, Polly was treated at Palmetto Veterinary Medicine & Surgery in McConnells.
Tuesday morning, Harper picked Polly up from York County Animal Control.
“The dog was just as glad to see her owner as her owner was to see the dog,” said Animal Control Supervisor Chris Peninger. She said animal control was glad someone came forward to claim the dog.
Harper said she was asked to describe the dog before animal control released Polly to her. Polly, who wasn't hurt in the incident, will be treated further by her owner's veterinarian.
“They say Polly's going to be fine. They say she's doing good,” Harper said. “She's a sweet dog.”
Harper expressed extreme gratitude to Bennett for acting after he heard her dog's cries in the creek and to rescue workers for their efforts in saving Polly.
“I'm just thankful that the guys found her, and they got her out — That she's in one piece and safe,” she said.
Now, Polly will become an inside dog, Harper said. “I think this took the life out of her,” Harper said. “We're just glad to have her home.”