Cape Coral firefighters rescue dog from canal

Neighbors say it was so dark in Cape Coral they could barely see Diamond the dog with a flashlight but knew she was struggling. They say she’s lucky because they’ve caught bull sharks right out of the canal she was trapped in, and the water was so cold.

Luckily, Diamond is safely back with her owners and now has a few new friends after a group of Cape Coral firefighters saved her life.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is someone’s dog,” neighbor Rebecca Hensely said. “They’re part of the family.”

Diamond got stuck in the canal behind Rebecca Hensley’s home. It was just before midnight when neighbors heard her barking.

“I could hear it barking, and it was splashing around,” Hensley said. “So I told my neighbor I’m going to hang up and call 911. And, then, I didn’t hear the dog barking or splashing anymore. So, at the time, I thought maybe it was too late because I didn’t know how long it had been in the canal.”

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for firefighters to show up and jump in to help.

“The dog looked really scared, and it was stressed,” Hensley said. “And, as soon as it saw all of us, it was almost like it wasn’t quite sure what to do, and it jumped in the water where it was deeper and tried to swim and that’s when it went under, and we were all just gasping.”

It took firefighters around 30 minutes to pull Diamond out of the water

Diamond had two microchips. She was recently had a second one added by new owners, and the previous owner’s microchip also popped up. Diamond’s new owners say they didn’t know and had another put in.

Animal control told them it’s always important to change the microchip addresses.

Her owners told us they are thankful she was rescued. And neighbors are happy she made it safely back to them too.

“I’m just glad that the firefighters took the time to help because I would certainly want them to help if it was my dog,” Hensley said.