RESCUE: German shepherd Angel gets a miracle — church volunteers

By April Amadon/amadona@gnnewspaper.com
Greater Niagara Newspapers

April 24, 2007 12:50 am

— A German shepherd named Angel met a group of her own guardian angels on Sunday.
Angel, who belongs to the Heffernan family of Lockport, was pulled from the canal by a group of bystanders after she fell into the cold water Sunday afternoon.
The dog’s adventure began on Tuesday, when she disappeared from the Heffernan’s home after chasing a wild turkey across the road.
“She’s never done this before,” Wendy Heffernan said. “We were so afraid she was going to get hit. She’s never been off a leash before.”
Wendy, her husband Patrick and their three children searched for Angel for days to no avail.
“We had calls that people had seen her, but we were never able to find her ourselves,” she said. “The whole family was devastated.”
Angel’s adventure ended on Sunday, when she turned up on Market Street, next to the canal.
Just after 1 p.m., Erin Swiatowy was in a canalside park with her husband Tom and son Peter, enjoying the weather, when they saw Angel run by.
Erin said she was at first unsettled by the sight of a dog not on a leash.
“It was kind of scary, because it was a German shepherd,” she said. “It didn’t look very friendly.”
Erin said they watched Angel run over the embankment — going over the edge and into the canal. The family ran to the edge and saw Angel swim across the canal to the other side, where she came up against a solid stone wall.
“(The dog) was frightened,” Erin said. “It was pretty traumatic. You don’t want it to drown, but you don’t know what to do.”
Tom began yelling across the canal, hoping to get someone’s attention, Erin said.
On the other side of the canal, a group from the First Presbyterian Church was picking up litter as part of the Canal Clean Sweep.
Church member Cindy Smist heard Tom’s call and walked to the side of the canal to investigate.
“I looked over the edge and saw the dog,” Cindy said. “We yelled there was no way to get the dog out, because it’s all cement there.”
Across the canal, Tom pointed the church members to a nearby metal ladder, and Cindy called others to come help.
“I had the dog kind of follow me all the way down to the ladder,” she said.
Cindy’s husband Bill started going down the ladder toward Angel.
Church member Sharon Luskin was one of several who helped pull Angel from the canal.
“Naturally, the dog was scared and timid, didn’t know we were trying to help,” Luskin said. “The poor thing was petrified.”
Angel panicked during the ordeal and gave Bill a little bite on the hand, though Cindy said it wasn’t serious.
Finally, thanks to the combined efforts of several church members, Angel was pulled from the canal, shivering and a bit shaken by the experience.
“She was cold,” Cindy said, “She just wandered around, dazed a little bit.”
As frightened as she was, Angel still seemed happy to be around people. When Lockport Police Officer Michael Wasik came to pick Angel up, she jumped eagerly into the back of his car, Cindy said.
Meanwhile, the Heffernan family was still fearing the worst. After nearly a week of searching, they had begun to face the grim realization that she might never return home, Wendy said.
Wendy was grocery shopping on Sunday when her cell phone rang.
“My husband called and said, ‘Angel’s home,’” she said. “It’s just a miracle.”
After a day of love and hugs, Angel is doing well, Wendy said. She wasn’t injured during her ordeal, but she has an appointment with the vet this week just to be sure.
“She’s a happy little puppy now,” Wendy said, laughing. “She’s a little shaken up. She’s a little tired after her five-day adventure.”
She said the family is very grateful to the church members who helped Angel out of her ordeal.
“We can’t be thankful enough. She’s our life,” Wendy said. “It was just incredible that these people did this.”
Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

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