VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — Behind Cleveland Clinic's Euclid Hospital, you'll find stunning views of Lake Erie, especially on a sunny June day. Luckily, it had people outside last Tuesday when they noticed that beyond the fence and the jetty was a 4-year-old pitbull mix in distress in the water.
"I got a call for a dog drowning by the helicopter pad, right outside the hospital," said Security Guard Tony Styles. "I didn't want to take too long, and my instincts kind of kicked in, so I jumped over the fence, climbed down the rocks, and saw it."
"She was a little far out so I kind of jumped in and swam and see where she was at, and she started to sink," he said.
When asked what was going through his mind then, Styles said, "I was a little worried about jumping in myself, and then I was worried about the dog biting. But then we kind of locked eyes as she was sinking, and I didn't have anything to worry about after that; I didn't worry anymore."
Styles got the dog back to the rocks, and the Euclid Fire Department responded.
"We could tell she was breathing, but she was on the rocks, and she was not moving at all," said Euclid Firefighter and Paramedic Dave Engeman. "We just figured out how to put her on some of our equipment, wrap her up and bring her up."
They got her on a stretcher and brought her up to safety. Exhausted but otherwise OK, she's been since named "Marina."
She's doing great, you know, for going through such a traumatic event; she really bounced back quite quickly," said Mindy Naticchioni, Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter administrator. "She was in a really precarious situation and very lucky to have encountered such a wonderful individual."
As for Marina's future?
"So she's completed her stray hold and unfortunately an owner has not come forward for her so tomorrow she will be spayed and then she will be available for adoption on Thursday," Naticchioni said.
A week after Marina's rescue, she and Styles were reunited at the animal shelter Tuesday. "She's cute," said Styles, a former dog owner who said he's thought of getting another.
Possibly Marina?
"I thought about it, I'll consider it," he said.
Fingers crossed, says Naticchioni. "We're still hoping we're going to see if we can work a little magic. They may have just been meant to be together."
In the meantime, she said the public responded to the Shelter's call for help last week after receiving more than two dozen dogs, including Marina, in two days.
"We had a really successful adoption weekend," she said. "We saw in total, I believe, close to a little over 30 dogs leave the building through adoption, foster, being reunited with their owners. We have seen more dogs come in, but we are certainly in a less critical place. However, many dogs are still waiting to be adopted or looking for their owners.
"We take in just stray dogs, so if you've lost your pet, we encourage you to come to our website or come down here and take a look to see if your pet is here."
CLICK HERE for more information about the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter.
