HVAC worker saves dog struggling in backyard pool in Queen Creek
By Michael Raimondi
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QUEEN CREEK, Arizona (KPHO) — An incident created scary moments Tuesday morning at a Queen Creek family’s home. Their 10-year-old blind dog fell right into the backyard pool. Kim Slaughter and her family are staying at her parent’s home while their new house is being built in Casa Grande.
“For a bulldog she’s a super senior,” Slaughter said. “She really didn’t need to do a polar plunge.”
Temps were in the 30s when Malone the dog fell into the water. Slaughter’s son’s girlfriend was outside next to the pool, trying to keep Malone above water. Donley Service’s worker Hunter Hitchens was fixing the heaters and was walking down the stairs when he noticed the commotion out back.
“I saw the panic set on her face, and the dog got out of her arms and started floating to the middle of the pool,” Hitchens said. “By the time I hit the back door I already had the jacket off about to take the second one off because I knew either I had to go in or she had to go in.”
Thankfully, nobody had to jump into the water. Hitchens quickly went over to the edge of the pool and laid on his chest with his arms out, hoping the bulldog would come closer to him. “She barely had her nose above the water. I think she saw me even though she’s blind, and she wiggled to me, and I grabbed her by the back of the neck.”
Hitchens was able to reach down into the water and lift the 60-pound dog out of the water. She could have drowned if Hunter wasn’t able to save Malone. “I’m just thankful for that that he was here, there was somebody who loved pets as much as we do,” Slaughter said. “A lot of people don’t realize how important they are.”
There was no pool fence, but it was a family member’s home. Slaughter says they typically don’t let Malone outside without her on a leash and someone watching. They say they have never had an issue with the dog by the pool before.
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