SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County Fire District 9 firefighters traded their usual cat-in-tree rescue for something much larger Thursday when they helped free a 200-pound dog trapped in a creek.
Riley, a 12-year-old Leonberger, found himself stuck in a ditch on his owner’s property after what appeared to be an investigation of sounds near a pond went wrong.
“He means everything to me. We have done anything and everything for this dog,” said Rosa McGuire, Riley’s owner.
McGuire let Riley outside Thursday morning as part of their usual routine. When she checked on him hours later, the gentle giant had vanished.
“He must’ve heard something going on down towards the pond…and what I think he did is he started walking the creek up and he got to the point where he couldn’t get out,” McGuire said.
The family attempted their own rescue mission, trying to lift Riley using a toboggan and even a tow truck winch, but the steep creek bank proved too challenging for the nearly 200-pound dog.
That’s when they called Fire District 9 for assistance.
“They didn’t know what to do because this is like what he called a ‘grey’ area for them…but they gave us a stretcher, that’s been a lifesaver,” McGuire said.
Six firefighters responded to the unusual call and successfully extracted Riley from the creek using the stretcher. The dog emerged dirty but relatively unharmed from his creek adventure.
Riley is now back home and has a veterinary appointment scheduled for next week. Fire department members said the dog should feel much better after a warm bath.
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