English - Drowning Puppy
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
It was the spring of 1993. I was working as a cameraman for CBS News and my job was to shoot the massive flooding taking place near ST louis where three major tributaries converged. Our helicopter pilot had heard from another helicopter pilot that there was a fresh break in a levee and we were directed to it. There it was the water was breaking through and headed for a nearby farmhouse. We could see that a road rose out of the water for a short distance, right in front of the farmhouse. So we sat down there. What an amazing side cars, boats, small sheds floated by. At one point, my sound tech pointed out that there was a dog in the water swimming for its life that's in the water right there. How do you? Bye? Yeah, it was a puppy and he struggled to climb up on something that would keep him above the water. It's getting tired. It worked for the moment, but the water was rising fast. I wanted to save that dog. It was painful to see him struggle. I had to try something to save him. Mhm. Yeah. Mhm. Mhm. I locked down the camera and began making my way through the rushing water. I knew how dangerous it was to try this. I'd shot too many stories of people dumped into rushing streams because they were just sure the water wasn't strong enough to push their car off the road. It always was so I was careful. But when a large tree lamb floated by me, I knew I was risking my life and I had to turn back back at the camera, I watched the dog, the water rose and he was back in the water looking for anything that would get him to higher ground in desperation, even tried a cardboard box that of course didn't work. And the puppy was back in the water. I could see he was exhausted. He didn't call him. He's coming towards you. Come on, not anymore, peter. This time he was being swept downstream to my right and going behind the house, my sound tag David Griffin and I ran to the right until the road disappeared back into the water. I was looking through the long lens of my camera for the puppy. He came into view once. I could see that while watching the video later. But in the panic of the moment, I didn't see the puppy the first time that my camera did, but I finally saw him being swept along. I considered the road. I knew where it was under the water and the water was flowing in the direction of the road. So two things happened at the same time, David went to the chopper so they could try and track the dog from the air. And I left the camera and started walking into the water along where I knew the road was, and I was calling to the puppy. David could see what I was doing from the air, and he could see that as I called to the puppy, the puppy was trying to swim towards me as he was being swept downstream in the water. I dare to walk in his direction and off the road as much as I could. But I didn't have a lot of hope. I continue to walk into deepening water and calling to the puppy. I could see he was exhausted, but he seemed energized by me calling to him and seeing me walk toward him, it was breaking my heart. I just knew he would be too far downstream for me to get to him in time. All I can tell you is that the puppy must have given it all he could because against all odds I was able to reach out and ****** him out of the water. He was shaking in my arms as I held him tied and spoken soothing tones as I walked with him toward the camera. Now manned by David. The farmhouse was abandoned of course. So there was no one to talk to about the puppy and it was likely he had floated to the farmhouse from somewhere else, along with the cars and the sheds and the tanks. I took the pup with me in the helicopter back to our makeshift news bureau. The shot of me coming out of the water with the pup, made it into a piece for cbs. Evening news. A cbs. News crew did what it could rescuing the puppy that was stranded on the farm near the Levee Break and finding him a good home, say hi, who's shaking in his boots? The helicopter pilot volunteered to adopt the puppy. He named him. Rescue. I even got a christmas card from him later that year.