Firefighters from Gard narrowly saved three dogs trapped by rising waters on Monday, September 9. Heavy rains have caused a significant rise in the level of rivers in the southeast.
The story ends well for these three dogs, victims of the heavy rains that fell on Pujaut, northwest of Avignon. All weekend, the level of the rivers and canals rose sharply in this area, following the bad weather.
The three animals were trapped in a roubine, a canal used for irrigation and sanitation. Firefighters intervened on Monday, September 9 at around 6:30 a.m. to save them.
Animals trapped for several hours
The Gard firefighters were alerted by walkers, intrigued by the barking of the three dogs, France 3 reports. With the Animal Rescue and Intervention Unit, the emergency services saved the two Argentinian mastiffs and the Australian shepherd, several hours after being trapped.
“We assume that they had been there since yesterday evening and the situation was becoming dangerous for them. The three dogs were rescued and saved. The shepherd travelled 10km from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon,” explained Nicolas Baro, commander of the Saint-Gilles animal rescue and intervention unit, to our colleagues at France 3.
According to the latter, the dogs were exhausted at the time of their rescue, after having swum for several hours to stay afloat. Because of the steep slopes, the canines were unable to extricate themselves to reach the banks.
After this miraculous rescue, the dogs were able to find their way home. “Thanks to the USIA (Specialized Animal Intervention Unit, editor’s note) chip reader, the owners of the dogs were found and contacted. They were able to get their animals back,” explain the Gard firefighters on their Facebook page.
