Broward Sheriff's Deputies Team Up To Rescue Dog Stuck In Canal

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LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Five Broward Sheriff's deputies worked together to rescue a dog stuck in a North Lauderdale canal Monday morning.

They later found out that the dog belonged to one of their own, a BSO deputy who works at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The entire rescue was captured on body cameras worn by the deputies.

You can hear on the cameras how the deputies tried to calm the animal who was struggling in the water.

"Hey sweetheart. You're ok, buddy," one of the deputies said.

Next, as the deputies walked along a tight embankment behind homes and along a fence-line, Deputy Josh Stambaugh decided to step into the water to get closer to the dog.

"Come here for a minute, hold my hand," he said to another deputy.

The deputies worked together to try and get hold of the animal but the dog — a large 7 year old German Shepherd didn't want to cooperate at first. Eventually Stambaugh used an animal control device to pull the dog to safety.

"Nice job," one deputy said as the dog came closer to land.

On Monday afternoon at the BSO North Lauderdale substation, the deputies were reunited with the dog.

She's named Shasta and she's owned by another Broward Sheriff's deputy, Doug Davis, who works at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Deputy Davis' wife and daughter expressed their gratitude to the men who rescued the 7-year-old German Shepherd.

Thank you guys so much for finding my dog," said Jasmine Davis. "I didn't think I'd be able to tell you guys thank you."

"So grateful," said Dahlia Davis, Deputy Davis' wife. "I don't know what our home would be like at this hour if we didn't know where she was right now."

Shasta escaped from her backyard through a broken fence Monday morning and somehow wound up in the canal. A resident spotted her and called 911.

"We saw the dog in the water, not moving that much at all," said Stambaugh.

Stambaugh owns two German shepherds. He said Shasta was exhausted and struggled in the water and she even tried to swim away from her rescuers.

"When we went into the water, the dog started swimming out and we were able to coax the dog back in," Stambaugh said. "He came back in and I was able to lasso it."

And they were able to produce a happy ending for this family.

"Knowing this was my dog or someone else's dog we got there as fast as we could to try and save the dog's life," said Sgt. Thomas Watkins.

And that's what they did.