NJ: Trenton Fire Department rescues pit bull from D&R canal

Trenton Fire Department rescues pit bull from D&R canal

Trenton Fire Department rescues pit bull from D&R canal

Published: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 7:00 AM Updated: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 7:03 AM



Trenton— Fire Mechanic Rob Dooley was working at the city fire garage yesterday morning when the boy ran up to him.

The boy looked no older than 9, and seemed like he didn’t know what to do. But it turned out he was stepping in where adults in his North Trenton neighborhood hadn’t bothered to for at least two days.

“He just came running up and said, ‘There’s a dog stuck in the canal,’” Dooley said. “‘Help!’”

Dooley roused Capt. Mike Welsh, who went out with the men of Ladder 4 to the end of Old Rose Street and a wooden bridge that spans the Delaware & Raritan Canal.

Underneath the bridge, just a few feet above the water line, was an emaciated, frightened pit bull standing on a small stretch of wood about a foot wide.

With a 12-foot-high sheer brick wall at his back, the dog couldn’t go up to escape. To his other side was the water of the canal. The plank was his island.

“The dog was stranded on the middle of it,” Welsh said. “How he got there, I don’t know.”
Firefighter Bobby Bland, who’s owned three pit bulls, was chosen to go down and make the rescue. While they readied a 14-foot ladder, a man passing by on a bike gave the firefighters news that made their hearts sink.

“He said he thought the dog was over there two days,” Welsh said.

Bland went down the ladder and approached the pit bull carefully.

“He actually put his hand down to see if the dog was friendly,” Firefighter Elwood Benner said.

When the dog came toward him with tail wagging, Bland scooped him up, bringing him to safety atop the bridge.

Though several neighbors later told the firefighters they had heard barking for at least two days, nobody had called the police, Animal Control, or the fire department, Welsh and Bland said. But the dog’s suffering hadn’t started under the bridge. The firefighters could see how emaciated, dirty and small the dog was from what they said looks like a long period of neglect.

Last night, the dog they named “Woody” — for the small plank of wood he was found on during the morning rescue — was staying at fire headquarters on Perry Street, eating well and being doted on by the firefighters there.

He was found without any identifying tags. Kept on a long lead to stop him from running away out the open engine bay doors, Woody seemed happiest when people were around him, and followed them anywhere they went.

Immediately after the rescue, the firefighters had loaded Woody into the back of Ladder 4, where Benner had his head hanging out the window to avoid the dog’s smell. After a bath for the dog, the men took Woody to Dr. Peter Batts’ veterinary office in the western part of the city, where Batts performed a full examination and administered shots. He insisted on doing it all free of charge.

The dog ate heartily after his exam. “(The vet tech) gave us two cans of food,” Welsh said. “He went through that like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, which he probably hadn’t.”

Batts said Woody is likely 1 or 2 years old and weighs only 33 pounds.

“At his size, he should be at least 60, so that’s half his weight,” Welsh said.

Welsh’s aunt works at the Hamilton Animal Shelter, and he contacted her to see if she could help. The shelter was full last night, but a Facebook message about Woody had already attracted attention from 30 people — some of whom expressed interest in adoption.

Woody slept at the firehouse last night, and several firefighters including Bland have offered to foster Woody until a new home can be found for the gentle dog. Bland’s last pit bull, whom he named Suede because his fur made him look like he was draped in the fabric from muzzle to tail, died three years ago after being hit by a car.

“I actually used to bring him here, every night,” Bland said of his late dog.

Woody is safe now, after being trapped in the small space under the bridge where he could only sit and not lie down for at least two days, the firefighters said. Last night, Ladder 4 and the rest of the men on duty at fire headquarters were wondering why nobody called them sooner, and why a courageous kid was the only one who did anything about it.

“It takes a 7-, 8-, 9-year-old kid to say something,” Dooley said.

Trenton Fire Department rescues pit bull from D&R canal | NJ.com