A RELIEVED dog owner has expressed her gratitude after a man risked his life by diving into the River Tyne to save her puppy.
Ally Temple, 25, felt her heart stop after she received a phone call from her mam Shirley at work, telling her that Ally’s five-month-old French bulldog Onyx had slipped into the river at the Riverside Park in Prudhoe.
Thankfully, Ally could breathe easy again when her mam told her that a man jumped in to save him and he was safe.
Ally, who is originally from Prudhoe but who now lives in North Shields said: "When I got a phone call from my mam explaining what happened, I was upset and worried about Onyx.
"However, I was extremely grateful that someone so kind and caring jumped in to save him, as it could have been a completely different outcome.
"My mam said the dogs were walking as normal, then Onyx popped down by the water for a look and sniff, but he slipped and fell into the fast-moving water.
"Thankfully and selflessly a man, who we later found out by social media was called Steven, jumped in after him, not even thinking of the effects it could have had on himself."
After the incident Shirley took Onyx to the vets where he was checked over and given antibiotics to get rid of any bacteria from the river. Onyx then had a follow-up appointment a few days later where he was given the all-clear.
Grateful that Onyx was ok, Shirley and her mam then tracked down the man who rescued him.
"We wanted to find him and personally thank him,” Ally said.
"My mam was in a state of shock at the time, so she didn't get any details about him. Thankfully, through the power of social media, we found him.
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"After speaking to Steven’s wife, she explained that luckily Onyx had his harness on, otherwise Steven probably wouldn't have managed to get him out.
“This was just an unfortunate freak accident, but I cannot stress enough how careful everyone, with or without dogs, needs to be around the water.
“This could have ended completely differently.
"It goes to show that there are still some amazing people in this mad world.
"He is our hero and deserves a medal."
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