How I cheated death to save Chunk from reservoir
Dog lover Josh Morris has spoken of the moment he narrowly cheated death after plunging into a reservoir to rescue his Staffordshire bull terrier Chunk.
The 20-year-old ended up having to be rescued himself as he twice disappeared below the surface, weighed down by his drenched clothes and shoes.
Josh had jumped into into Netherton's Lodge Farm Reservoir, fearing for the life of his pet dog Chunk, who he described as his 'baby'.
Pictures of the dramatic rescue featured in the Express & Star yesterday – with a local yacht club saving the day.
Back home in Netherton – and with 18-month-old Chunk by his side – Josh said that when he went under the water after struggling, 'I thought I was dead'.
Chunk had been off her lead enjoying the group's regular walking haunt at the reservoir about 4pm on Sunday, when she jumped in to swim to a buoy, which was in 14ft deep water.
Chunk, who has been weak since she broke her leg as a six-month-old puppy, appeared to be struggling so Mr Morris jumped in, but the pet managed to swim back to shore. Josh's pal, Ben Fellows swam out to help, but got into difficulty.
Eventually, Josh was rescued when Bryn Watkins, the commodore of Dudley Sailing Club, was alerted to the drama, before driving out to Josh in a motorised boat.
He was taken to hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. "The man in the boat and Ben saved my life," he said.
