Pensioner Saves Dog From Freezing Harbour

Fri, 08 May 2009

A pensioner from Cumbria jumped into a freezing cold harbour to rescue his daughter’s dog . Seventy year old Vince McQuilliam was walking his daughter’s blind shitzu Buster on Whitehaven harbour when the dog fell in. Despite suffering from asthma and being hard of hearing, Mr McQuilliam clambered down a ladder into the water to save the pet . After the incident, Mr McQuilliam was given the all clear by a doctor at the nearby West Cumberland Hospital, whilst Buster was given a clean bill of health aside from a sore stomach by a vet .

Mr McQuilliam revealed a man came to his help as he was swimming back to the ladder with Buster on his shoulder. As he neared the ladder, the man helped by pulling the animal and himself out of the water.

Mr McQuilliam said, ‘I thought he wasn’t too far from the harbour wall and that I could climb down get him, swim back to the ladder, pause and then climb back up. All sorts of things flashed through mind, including the fact it’s my daughter’s dog and she might kill me if I didn’t go in after him. The water was freezing, quite a shock to the system. I got to Buster, put him over my shoulder and swam back to the ladder.’

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