Man says pooch helped free him, two boys from collapsed snow fort

A Nova Scotia man is crediting Zoose the family pooch with helping save him and two young boys who were trapped when their snow fort collapsed on them.

Steve Bayers, his son Ben and a friend were building a large snow fort in Lawrencetown on Saturday when the roof caved in, pinning Bayers’ arms and legs underneath him.

The two boys were close to Bayers, screaming in the darkness, but he couldn’t move under the weight of the snow.

“I didn’t know what happened,” Ben told Global News. “I thought someone just jumped on me and then I realized the weight just kept gaining and gaining, and that’s when I realized I couldn’t move and I started panicking.”

His friend, Adam Inch, said they were screaming at the top of their lungs, but it was difficult to hear. With his limbs pinned, Bayers said it seemed impossible to get out until his five-year-old golden Labrador retriever began digging and tugging on the back of his jacket.

“I knew at that point, if I could get an arm or a leg free and get my leg untwisted, I had a chance of getting out and helping the kids,” Bayers said. “(Zoose) was the inspiration. I can’t say it enough.”

Bayers managed to partially free himself and began calling for help, alerting a neighbour who ran over and started shovelling them out.

“I heard the hollers of Steve and I just come over and started shovelling trying to get the kids out,” said Peter Mansfield. “Things could have turned a lot worse, but luckily everything is good.”

The ordeal left Bayers with a broken fibula and twisted knee, while his son had a minor concussion and sore shoulder.