Letter: A heartfelt thank-you to rescuers for this Fenway save

Posted 9/3/18

To the editor:

We are writing to commend and to thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the Little Compton fire chief and officers who rescued our 3-year old golden retriever from small craft …

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Letter: A heartfelt thank-you to rescuers for this Fenway save

Posted

To the editor:

We are writing to commend and to thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the Little Compton fire chief and officers who rescued our 3-year old golden retriever from small craft advisory waters in the Sakonnet River today.

At the rock outcropping north of Taylor’s Lane, Fenway took off after a seagull with a broken wing whose only recourse was water. An avid swimmer, Fenway’s bobbing head disappeared from view as he  chased and swam and drifted northwest, out of sight.

We reluctantly called the Little Compton Safety Complex, imagining they had way more important things to do than look for our dog. They do, but they did! Fire Chief Petrin arrived and walked north over challenging terrain at a rate with which we couldn’t keep up. He also dispatched two boats that covered a grid over the area where the tides might have carried Fenway. As we watched the boats work their with no results, we began to reconcile ourselves to Fenway’s loss.

After over an hour, during which we thought there was no way Fen could survive in those waters, we saw Chief Petrin on the horizon, maybe a half mile north of where we waited, more than a mile north of where we had begun. He appeared like a mirage with a yellow dog at his side. He found our very beloved dog just off shore, called him in, and brought him back to us.

Chief Petrin accompanied all of us back to Taylor’s Lane, where he and his officers provided Fen with much needed water. We still can’t believe they did all of this for us. Thank you chief, fire and police officers for reminding us how blessed we are to live in this town. You are our heart.

Jana P. Porter and Peter V. Fossel

Little Compton

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