Byron Thanarayen and his wife Melissa are hugging their pups tight after their toy Pomeranian Chucky nearly drowned in their pool last week.
Luckily, the couple’s 7-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier Jessie was there to save the day!
In the harrowing footage caught by security cameras, 13-year-old Chucky falls in the pool as he’s walking around the perimeter. At first, no one is around to see him.
After a few minutes, Jessie comes into view and begins circling the pool, following Chucky as he flails in the water. Jessie begins trying to grab ahold of Chucky from the pool’s edge and remove him from the water.
While the video doesn’t show Jessie’s entire rescue — it took the bigger dog 30 minutes to save Chucky — the clip does include the moment Jessie pulls her friend to safety with her teeth.
The incident took place earlier this month in Boksburg, South Africa, which is east of Johannesburg. Byron and Melissa told The Times South Africa that they never could have guessed what went on, after they found their pups covered in water.
“We thought maybe he dipped his head in the water [bowl], but there was no mess in the house to support this suggestion,” Bryon said.
Though the dogs know not the go in the pool without supervision, the couple decided to check the security tapes — which is when they finally discovered what happened.
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“It was heart-wrenching to watch. We still struggle to watch that video today, just thinking of what could have happened if Jessie was not there,” Byron told the Times, adding: “I’m really proud of her, considering she is the youngest.”
Byron said they’ve trained their dogs to swim, but they still plan to install a pool cover to avoid another accident in the future.
“It never occurred to us previously that we needed the cover, but since this incident, we saw how important it is to have one,” he told The Times.
