Surfer Rescues Dog Swept Off Pier

big news from my sleepy little town :) :

(Sept. 12) - A surfer rode a wave on his stomach to rescue a struggling dog that had been swept off a pier and into Lake Michigan by a wave.

Surfer rescues dog
Don and Joan Dobbin

Surfer Matt Smolenski, right, and Joe Riopelle help save a dog who was swept off a pier into Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, Mich., on Tuesday. "He (Smolenski) put the dog up on his surfboard, and the dog rode the surfboard in to shore," said one bystander who witnessed the rescue.
Matt Smolenski, 25, said he grabbed the pooch's collar just as the exhausted, black-and-brown mixed breed stopped dog-paddling on Tuesday.

"He put the dog up on his surfboard, and the dog rode the surfboard in to shore," said Royce Rodgers, an off-duty Muskegon Heights police officer who witnessed the rescue. As the dog crouched on the board, Smolenski held on from the water, fighting large waves and a strong current all the way to shore.

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Last Edited by Account Deleted by User on 10/13/2011 10:16 PM