Man Leaves His Own Birthday Party To Rescue Dog From Drowning In River
When Gabe Castellanos,38, woke up on the morning of his birthday, he had no idea that by the end of the day he would be heralded as a hero in media. That is exactly what happened, and it has been lauded as an extraordinary event.
Gabe was having a great time at his outdoor birthday party when he heard a commotion from the River. When he looked over, Gabe saw that there was a black and white dog struggling to stay afloat in the water.
When horrified onlookers saw the poor dog struggle, Gabe sprang into action. He quickly headed toward the pier, quickly took off his pants, shed his shirt, put on a life jacket, and jumped into the water.
He swam to the frightened dog and tried to grab her, but when he did she quickly turned and bit his face and hand. Ignoring his own blood from this injury, he continued on willfully towards shore with the dog by pulling her along with him.
The two were cheered on by the crowd, and a helicopter was observed hovering over the scene as it monitored the dog rescue. The dog was eventually reunited with her owner after landing, and her tragic and eventful day came to light.
According to an ABC affiliate, the dog, Harper was hit by a car when Harper escaped from her walker. Nobody knows how she got into the river, but she did and thankfully due to Gabe’s bravery, she was rescued from nearly drowning.
Gabe attributes his ability to save the dog to his ocean survival skills he learned in college. Even then, he did not escape injury- the dog bit him on hand, face and knocked him in teeth so now Gabe is undergoing dental repair.
We are sorry that Gabe got hurt but happy that Harper is okay. Her owner thanks Gabe for everything he did to help her out at the time and we know Harper does too.