Petrified Pup Trapped In Pond Rescued By Hillsborough Fire Medic

TAMPA, FL — Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and the animal control officers joined forces Monday morning to rescue a dog stranded on some floating vegetation at Lucy Dell Park in Northeast Tampa.

A child walking past the park at 6407 N. 45th St. on his way to school noticed the frightened dog precariously perched in the water and promptly alerted school officials, who contacted the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center.

Realizing they'd need specialized equipment to rescue the dog, animal control officers called Hillsborough County Fire Rescue to assist.

The rescuers arrived at the pond around 8 a.m. and fire rescue crews, equipped with rescue ropes and pulleys, set up a rope system to lower Fire Medic 1 Gilbert Navas into the water from the elevated boardwalk.

Once on the surface of the water, Navas waded to the stranded dog and used a snag pole to grab him. Navas then carried the petrified pup back to the boardwalk, where animal control officers used a large net to lift the dog to safety.

Animal control officers determined that the dog, which resembles a black lab, had not been microchipped. He's been taken to the Pet Resource Center on Falkenburg Road where the center will wait to see if his owner comes forward.

If no one claims the dog that the rescuers named "Gil" in honor of his rescue hero, he will be neutered, microchipped and put up for adoption.