A special case of dog-paddling: Key West cop saves man and his very large friend
The Key West Police Department is recognizing the heroics an officer who jumped into the water to rescue a man and his large dog.
Officer Corey Vanderhoof responded to reports of a man yelling for help near the Cow Key Channel Bridge on Wednesday and narrowed the search to the Hurricane Hole Restaurant, Bar and Marina on U.S. 1, the department said in a social-media post.
The Great Dane had fallen into the water, and his owner jumped in to save his pet, according to the department. He told police that he struggled for nearly 20 minutes to keep both himself and the large dog from sinking while he called for help.
When Vanderhoof saw the pair, he immediately removed his police gear and jumped in the water. He swam the dog, which the department said was “exhausted,” to an officer at the dock. Then he returned for the man, who was not named in the post. The man was struggling in the water, barely holding on to a docked boat, according to the post.
Vanderhoof swam the man back to the dock to be reunited with his pet.
