Paraplegic man tries to save his drowning dog (Video)

It cannot be said often enough that swimming pools are a real danger for pets. It is therefore always advisable to be careful and to protect them well so that accidents can be avoided. In this CCTV video, we see a Rottweiler dog fall into an unprotected swimming pool. The dog, Cassius, was unable to climb back to the edge to safety.

Darren Thomas was indoors alone when he heard his pet dog Cassius crying loudly at home in Cape Town, South Africa. Twenty minutes after Cassius fell, Darren arrived at the edge of the pool with his wheelchair. Paraplegic, the man then did everything he could to get his dog out of the water. The 40-year-old security business director found his 110lb dog – who ‘cannot or will not swim’ – struggling in the family pool. Pulling the dog out by hoisting him up was completely impossible. Mr Thomas – who has been in a wheelchair since he was shot 14 years ago defending his family home – tried to lift Cassius out on his own, but it proved impossible without risking tipping himself out of his wheelchair.

He was in there for about 20 minutes

Darren decided to gradually move the dog back towards the pool stairs so that he could get out on his own. This obviously required a lot of effort as he had to bend down and move the dog’s legs one by one along the length of the pool. ‘When I checked the footage after, I realised he was in there for about 20 minutes before I found him. That’s why he was so tired. I just thank God he was big enough to reach the side.’ said Darren.Watch the video, fortunately, a few minutes later Cassius was able to get out of the pool safely.