Up a River: Dog rescued from edge of waterfall by Elyria Fire dive team

A dog is safe and in search of a home after the Elyria Fire Department's dive team pulled it from the edge of a dam in the Black River on Wednesday evening. The black Lab mix, fittingly named "River" by his rescuers, is safe at the Lorain County Dog Kennel and awaiting either the return of his owners to find a new home, said Lorain County Dog Warden Kelsey Leftwich. Elyria Fire Chief Joe Vargo said firefighters were called after the dog was spotted by passersby clinging to debris just before a large drop in the west branch of the Black River beneath the Mussey Avenue Bridge. Engine Company 3 was the first to arrive. "They saw a dog that was upstream of that low head dam over there on Mussey Street," Vargo said Thursday. "It looked like he was stranded on a log there. Given the nature of the low head dam and the water movement, they recalled some EFD dive team members who were able to come in, tie off upstream, get down to the dog safely and then pull him back to the shore. Nobody was hurt and the dog was unhurt." Water rescues are always risky, but the incident Wednesday was made more precarious by being on the edge of the dam's flowing waterfall, and the dive team did not know what to expect from the dog. "The guys did an excellent job, I am very proud of them and the work they completed," Vargo said. "They considered several ideas, but obviously in this type of situation they want to do it as safely and effectively as possible, with the understanding that the animal could turn on them at any moment. Not because the animal is vicious or anything, but because it is scared." The dive team had no such issues with River, and he was safely returned to the shore and then transported to the kennel by Elyria police. After he got over the shock of the rescue River — a name Leftwich said Elyria firefighters requested — was thrilled with the attention he got from the kennel staff. "He is very social, he's really warmed up to us (and) he has done really well here," she said. Leftwich estimated that River is roughly 2 or 3 years old, that he is a black Labrador mix and that he has some level of sight issues, which may have played a part in River ending up in his predicament. "I really appreciate the Elyria Fire Department for going out and getting him to safety," Leftwich said. "You can see in the pictures he was so close to the edge of the waterfall, and that can be so dangerous. … They responded so quickly and we are grateful because we (at the kennel) don't have the tools to do some of those things." River was not microchipped and did not have a collar. The kennel must hold him and wait for an owner until Oct. 27, but after that time he will be available for adoption. Leftwich said that potential adopters were welcome to set up meetings with River in the meantime, though. "This is why it is important to get your dog licenses, because he could have gone home right after this traumatic event," Leftwich said. "I know accidents happen, but he can't tell us where he belongs, so we have no indication of where he came from or how long he was there. … But, I hope if he's not redeemed he gets to find himself a great home on Tuesday and has a great life to live ahead of him." The Lorain County Dog Kennel can be reached at 440-326-5995. Contact Owen MacMillan at 440-329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.