Positivity: Hero Dog Saves Couple in Distress
Posted: Monday, 02 July 2007 4:23PM
AMITYVILLE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A Long Island Border Collie is being hailed a hero after helping his owners rescue two boaters who capsized in the Amityville River.
Randy and Christine Ronback adopted the pooch named Smooch two weeks ago to keep geese off of their lawn.
And although they hadn’t had the dog for very long, they thought it was a bit unusual when Smooch began barking incessantly Sunday morning.
It turns out that Smooch was trying to get her owners attention. Outside their lawn overlooking the Amityville River, an empty kayak drifted toward the Great South Bay.
A man and woman struggled in the water as they tried to catch up to the kayak, police said.
Thanks to Smooch’s non-stop barking, Randy Ronback noticed the kayakers.
Ronback then jumped in his rowboat and paddled out to the couple in distress.
Ronback, a marine contractor by trade, used a crab net to rescue the man and then pull the woman on board.
The couple was treated at a local hospital and later released.
“She was the alarm and it was a good one,” Ronback said.
Smooch will be rewarded with a steak and extra dog biscuits.
