Jun 12, 2009 10:15 pm US/Central
Dallas Rescue Crews Refuse To Save Dog In Flood
Arezow Doost
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Dallas Fire-Rescue could change their policy when it comes to rescuing animals in floods.
The department came under fire Thursday after rescuers refused to help a dog, which we're told is a stray in West Dallas.
Our cameras rolled as firefighters paddled house to house right along McBroom Street to give residents a ride to dry land.
They rescued dozens from their water soaked homes, but it was who they didn't help that's outraged neighbors.
"I'll tell you the truth. I thought, 'This should not be happening,'" said Sylvia Lagos who witnessed the whole thing. "It was ridiculous."
The stray dog was wading through the water, following the firefighters' boat. Firefighters paddled on, ignoring him.
Then the dog swam alongside the boat for several minutes. As the dog tried to get in the boat, the firefighters just move on.
"In a perfect world that dog would have been inside that raft," said Ernest Gurule with Dallas Fire-Rescue "We made a mistake."
The department said the dog was walking around in the water, so the firefighters didn't think he was in any danger. Gurule said their priority was evacuating people.
"We are going to review the situation and maybe fine tune our policy so that there won't be a repeat of what we saw yesterday," said Gurule.
Gurule also said they've gotten calls about what happened and understand the role pets play in people's lives.
A day after, the flooding clean-up is still underway. Although the water is gone, there is a lingering sense of anger.
"The dog should have been rescued like any other human being," said Lagos.
People in the area say they did watch the dog get out and they do think he's ok, but say they haven't seen him since Thursday.
"No I haven't seen him anywhere," said Flor Molina.
The Molina family got their dog and five puppies to safety. They tried to help the stray left behind by the firefighters.
"We were trying to call him, but he wouldn't come to us," said Molina.
As clean-up continues and homes dry off, some people say they just hope their neighborhood stray is safe and comes back around.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
