Ella and Lucy Hammerstrand were spending Easter Sunday strolling along the banks of the St. Croix River in Minnesota. With them was Gus, the beloved Goldendoodle who probably didn’t know that he would be the hero that day.
The six-year-old dog has only three legs after one was amputated to fight bone cancer. But despite all these health problems, including chemotherapy, Gus suddenly decides to throw himself into the very cold waters of the river and swims about 15 meters.
A scene that left Ella and Lucy amazed who didn’t even know the dog could swim. And their amazement grew even more when they saw that he returned to shore carrying something in his mouth: «The first time he goes swimming with three legs he comes out of the water with a baby otter in his mouth! – Ella says -. We kept the baby for a while, we tried to find her mother, but we couldn’t. “
So the two wrapped the puppy in a blanket and rushed to the Minnesota Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (WRC) in Roseville. “He was really nice. His eyes weren’t open yet … you could only see his little nails and his little tail. He almost seemed curled up like a ball, ”Ella said.
WRC staff estimates the puppy is about a week old, too young to swim alone. Otters typically stay with their mothers for the entire first year of their life and so the center will take care of them.
“I think Gus knew that the otter was in pain and that something was wrong… after that he received a lot of good things to eat as a reward,” Ella said proudly.
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