Brevard Sheriff’s Deputies, Citizens Work Together To Save Trapped Dog
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // August 10, 2015
distressed dog adopted by saviour
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Deputy Michael Hriciso and Deputy Sylvester Harris were notified last week by two citizens that a dog that was trapped in a canal near the 5800 block of Jamaica Road in Port St. John.
According to the witnesses, the dog appeared to be injured and blind and may have been trapped in the canal all night. Upon arrival at the scene, the Deputies located the dog in the canal in several feet of water.
The dog was in distress and appeared weak as it was barely able to keep it’s head above the water.
The dog also appeared to be emaciated and lethargic as you could see the back bones and rib cage. The rear legs also appeared to be injured as the dog was only able to move slowly in circles.
Sgt. Caskey also arrived on scene and retrieved some food from a neighbor to try and gain the dogs attention.
Even with the dog food the Deputies were having no luck attracting the dogs attention from the steep embankment.
The Deputies had previously requested that an Animal Enforcement Officer respond to the scene and given the animals desperate condition and apparent injuries decided to wait for the arrival of the Animal Services Officer who would have the appropriate equipment to help rescue the dog so it could be transported to a emergency care facility.
With the pending arrival of the Animal Services Officer, several citizens started to arrive at the scene and offered their assistance as needed. Before the Animal Enforcement Officer could arrive on scene the dog’s condition began to deteriorate as he started shaking and appeared to be about to pass out.
The dog began to fall over in the water, where before he had been standing upright. As he fell over in the water his head would submerge repeatedly.
As the dogs condition began to deteriorate, Paul McGee, who was one of the bystanders, climbed down the steep embankment as Sgt. Caskey quickly obtained a garden hose from a nearby residence.
The hose was tossed down to Mr. McGee who had now been able to reach the dog in the water. McGee secured the hose to the dog at which time the Deputies were able to pull the dog to shore and eventually up the embankment.
Once the dog was up the embankment Deputy Harris utilized one of our emergency blankets to wrap the animal up in an effort to warm the dog, who was still shaking from the ordeal, and then Sgt. Caskey and Deputy Hriciso carried the dog to the Animal Services vehicle that had just arrived on scene.
As if this rescue story is not already great, it gets even better. On August 7 the dog was adopted from our Animal Care Center by none other than Mr. McGee, the man who helped save the dog’s life.
I would like to personally commend Mr. McGee for his incredible acts of compassion and care.
I would like to also thank the other citizens and our Deputies for working together to help save an innocent creature who was struggling to hold on. This is another perfect example of citizens and Law Enforcement working together to save lives in a great community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft. That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
