The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dog saved in dramatic river rescue
A DOG owner watched in horror yesterday as her pet was swept downstream after getting into difficulties in a Perthshire river.
The 18-month old collie had been playing in the shallows of the River Earn at Crieff when it was caught by the current.
“He was swimming at the edge of the water when he got out a little bit too far,” said the owner, a local woman who preferred not to be named.
“Halfway out he found a rock to stand on — he tried to get back but couldn’t.”
The emergency services were alerted by the woman, who was with her dog at Lady Mary’s Walk when the incident happened shortly before 12.30pm.
Fire crews and the water rescue team from Perth attended and, attached to a tethered line, a firefighter was able to reach the animal and carry it to safety.
An inflated hosereel was stretched across the river downstream of the incident in an effort to catch the dog, or firefighter, if either was carried away by the fast-moving water.
The anxious owner watched the rescue operation from the riverbank and was relieved to be reunited with her pet within the hour.
She said: “He was absolutely fine, he put his trust in the firefighter. “I am very grateful for their assistance.” The woman regularly exercises her dog at the beauty spot but will be giving it a miss “in the meantime”.
The walk, which runs along the river, was named after Lady Mary Murray whose family were local landowners in the early 19th Century.
The picturesque route through woodland and along the banks of the River Earn features an avenue of mature oak, beech, lime and sweet chestnut trees.