Go Fishing Forum

Man Clinging to Boat: Save My Dog First

Mar 11, 11:01 PM (ET)

CORE, W.Va. (AP) - Life jackets are made for people, not dogs. So, when Randy Earl's small boat capsized while he was fishing with his dog Lacy, a black spaniel mix, he stayed in the water with his life jacket while making sure Lacy was OK.

"When the boat flipped over, I put the dog on top of the boat," Earl told The Dominion Post of Morgantown.

While waiting for someone to rescue them on Mason Lake in northern West Virginia, Earl clung to the 12-foot boat's hull. The water temperature was about 50 degrees, said J.M. Crawley, a senior conservation officer for the Division of Natural Resources.

Another fisherman, Jan Thorn, watched from shore as a state trooper paddled out to rescue Earl and Lacy.

"He asked the state trooper to take the dog first," Thorn said. "It was very touching."

Earl, 53, said Lacy means a lot to him and his wife since they lost both of their children in a car accident 15 years ago.

"That dog is like a child to us," he said.

mine will have puppies by the end of the week !

What kind of dog? We have 4 dogs running around my little one acre of the world. Two Boxers, a Pug/Terrier mix and a little mop dog...umm..shih-tzu/pomeranian or something like that.