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Lucky the dog rescued from fast-flowing river

Chloe AslettYorkshire
News imageGlen Dent/K9-RSQ A photo taken from above of four people in red emergency gear on a red boat, trying to help a dog out of some reeds. You can only see the dog's leg but it seems to be on its way onto the boat.Glen Dent/K9-RSQ
The pointer-labrador cross, named Lucky, was unharmed

A dog named Lucky has been rescued from the dangerous banks of a fast-flowing river in Barnsley by dedicated experts and volunteers.

The pointer-Labrador lived up to his name when a member of the public noticed him barking at the bottom of a steep drop below a bridge over the River Dearne.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and local dog search and rescuers K9-RSQ and HARTSAR were also on the scene to get the one-year-old pup out of the reeds and back on dry land.

Erica Hart, from HARTSAR, said there was "no two ways about it, he would have been gone," if the dog walker had not heard Lucky barking and called for help.

"It must have been at least a 30, 40ft drop to get to the dog," she added.

News imageHARTSAR A drone image showing the red dinghy, with the four firefighters on it in red, getting the dog onto the boat. You can see some people to the right standing on a footbridge watching on.HARTSAR
A worried crowd gathered on the bridge

Ms Hart said Lucky was found directly below the bridge, near the Old Moor Tavern at Broomhill.

"There was no way it was safe for any human to do [the rescue] other than the specialists to go in and do it by the boat," she added.

She and K9-RSQ volunteer Glen Dent were first on the scene and called the fire service, then used a drone to find them the best access point into the river.

Mr Dent said: "We had eyes on the dog, the drone had eyes on, and it was looking quite unsettled, as though it was going to jump in the water."

But "with a bit of gentle persuasion", Lucky made it onto the boat.

News imageGlen Dent/K9-RSQ Reeds coming out of some dark water - it looks like a gloomy day - and behind some of them, you can see an obscured brown and white figure we now know to be Lucky.Glen Dent/K9-RSQ
Lucky was obscured by the reeds, but a drone helped highlight where she was waiting

"To get any dog back is a great relief," Mr Dent said.

"It's just satisfying to know we've worked as a team, everybody's done their part."

Danielle Drury, RSPCA rescue officer, said: "When I got there, he was just curled up on some reeds at the bottom. He must have exhausted himself with all the barking."

Ms Drury had not been able to establish how he got there, and the person registered to his microchip said they had unofficially rehomed him last month.

The firefighters, who had struggled to paddle the dinghy upstream in the powerful current, handed Lucky over to Ms Drury once they were back on dry land.

News imageRSPCA A wide-eyed, happy-looking dog with a black head and white body. He is sat properly, looking directly forward at the camera. He is sat on a blue lino floor, which appears to be in a vets.RSPCA
Lucky is due to move to RSPCA Sheffield Animal Centre

She said: "He seemed fine. He wasn't cold or wet and a member of the public fed him some sausages."

She described him as a "really lovely dog" who had been "happily walking along" with the firefighters and behaved well at the vets.

He has been checked over and, other than being a "little lean", seems in good health.

Lucky has been temporarily homed at a private kennels, until he moves to RSPCA Sheffield Animal Centre next week.

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