Bullmastiff Rescued From Frigid Alaskan Waters, Loving Pit Bull Terrier Dispels Myth About Aggressive Breed

Recently, in Mat-Su Valley, Alaska, a local dog accidentally wandered onto the ice of Se Lake and fell into the cold water. A resident of the Lakeside saw the large animal fall into the ice-cold water. According to the authorities, the big brindle mastiff was so large that she thought it was a baby moose at first!

Quickly, animal control responded to the distress call and assembled a dive team to retrieve the dog. Meanwhile, another resident, Rodney Priebe, came to the rescue with his trusty canoe, according to Life with Dogs.

Priebe and Animal Control Officer Nick Uphus used life preservers and paddles to save the hapless canine. The officer maneuvered deeper into the lake while using paddles to get through the ice. Priebe informed reporters about Uphus’ heroism. “He went under twice,” he said.

According to Priebe, Uphus pulled the 120-pound dog (similar to the one in the tweet below) by his collar to secure the animal inside the canoe’s hull. The dive team used their inflatable boat to attach a rope to the outrigger while an on-shore group pulled the two vessels to shore — thankfully, along with its canine cargo.

Looking for patterned fur for a brindle mastiff. Links to specific fur for sale would be fabulous! Thanks!! <3 pic.twitter.com/CiKodXyQn2

— HuskyPawsCostumes (@HuskyPawsSuits) July 6, 2016

The rescue went off nearly problem-free. Uphus was unfortunate enough to cut his finger while pulling the animal into the canoe. Uphus gave the media some insight into the life of an animal savior. Ostensibly, rescues like these are common around this time of year, as ice melts and becomes more fragile. “This is probably the sixth or seventh already this year,” stated Uphus.

Meanwhile, the lucky dog is in pretty good shape, and authorities were able to locate his owner via microchip.

The internet and various forms of media have vilified pit bulls over several generations. As a result, many people — a large number who have never even been near the breed — think of them as the evilest dogs in existence.

Greg Heynen was one among the anti-pit bull establishment until his wife’s dog did something amazing after their child was born, wrote Shareably.

According to Heynen, he and his wife owned two dogs before their meeting. Heynen’s wife’s dog was a mix of a Labrador and a pit bull named Zack. Supposedly, Zack hated Heynen. When Heynen and his wife had their daughter, Heynen said, “If he so much as nips at the baby, he’s gone.”

When the two brought their daughter home, both dogs sniffed and licked her with their tails wagging. Heynen had to pull Zack away from her because he felt the dog was licking her too much and becoming aggressive.

AFRAID HIS WIFE’S PIT BULL WOULD HARM HIS NEWBORN, HE WANTED THE DOG GONE – THEN THIS HAPPENED https://t.co/iZvtZMoG73

— Found Animals (@FoundAnimalsOrg) March 3, 2016

However, much to Heynen’s astonishment, Zack quickly became his daughter’s protector and never left her side. “Zack loved my daughter immensely,” Heynen stated to local reporters. “When she became a little older always walked her to bed, and then slept on the bed with her. He somehow knew whenever it was time to go upstairs, and he would wait at the foot of the stairs for her, and then follow her up to bed.”

Sadly, some kids in their neighborhood poisoned Zack, and the family experienced one of their worst days ever. The family had to watch their daughter say goodbye to the animal as he died on their kitchen floor, as Heynen explained.

“At 8:00 that night, my daughter walked to the stairs to go to bed. At that moment, all three of us realized what was about to happen. After five years, she didn’t have Zack to accompany her upstairs.”

Next, the young girl did something that melted her parents’ hearts. She gave them a look of defeat, of deep despair that her world from that moment on in wake of Zack’s death would change.

“It was at that moment that my dog, who loved my daughter dearly, but was not in Zack’s league, stood up, walked over to her, and nudged her with his head. He put his foot on the stairs and looked up at her. They walked up to bed, with my daughter holding tightly to his neck.”

“For the next six years, until he died, Sam waited for her by the stairs each night.”

[Photo by DusanManic/iStock by Getty Images]