Herts dog owner issues warning after being rescued from waters
The owner fell into a fast-moving river after attempting to save her dog
A dog owner from Hertfordshire is issuing a warning around the dangers of open water after being swept into a river while trying to help her dog who had become trapped under a branch.
Katherine, a Canine Hydrotherapist living in the North East of Hertfordshire, was walking her dogs near Albury when it went missing.
She quickly realised he had slipped down the riverbank and ended up in the water, wedged underneath a branch, struggling under the water with just his head above it.
She tried to help by lifting the branch using a dog lead, but couldn’t move it. When she attempted to get a better grip from further down the bank, she slipped and fell into the river.
While her dog managed to get out, she was found struggling in fast-moving waters.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, she said: "The water was moving a lot faster than I really realised and got deeper.
"I must have got swept a bit and I managed to grab the bridge to stop myself from ending up underneath it, but that's where I then got stuck."
Despite being trapped, she was able to call emergency services using her phone, which had been submerged in her pocket.
"I was able to hook one arm over the bridge so that I could use the other hand to get my phone out and then put it on the bridge on speaker, so I could then shout at the phone."
She credits the emergency call handler with helping her to stay calm until help arrived.
"I'm not sure how much resilience I would have had to keep hanging on if it hadn't have been for the other person on the end of the phone being there and talking me through it. It just gives you that little bit of extra strength to keep hanging on a bit longer."
Her experience now serves as advice and warning to other owners walking their dogs along open water spots, and the unseen dangers associated with water.
The messages are being reiterated by emergency services, who in Hertfordshire over the last five years responded to 167 callouts, with 15 lives tragically lost.