Every dog has its day and on May 23 it was Rudy's.
Vincent Morelli and Michael Martinez, two city of Cape Coral employees, fished the shepherd mix out of a canal at SE 31st Terrace and SE 11th Place.
Morelli and Martinez have been commended by public works staff for saving the dog. The department heard about the rescue after owner Tina Torres wrote a letter thanking the pair.
Morelli and Martinez noticed Rudy, treading water and exhausted, underneath a dock while they were collecting bins from the canal.
"He was stuck in the water," Morelli said. "He was surrounded by sea-walls - he would have drowned."
It's unknown how long Rudy was in the water.
"We had to use somebody's boat line to get him out," said Morelli, who lassoed the dog with the line to get him up the ladder. They placed the dog safely on a dock.
Morelli contacted Lee County Domestic Animal Services about finding the dog in the canal. Animal services contacted the Torres family and after a meeting with Morelli they were reunited with their family pet.
"It was nice to give back someone's dog who was alive," Morelli said.
The Torres family was looking for Rudy since he went missing late the night before. Rudy slipped out the back door. At 2:45 a.m. Tina's son, Blake Michie, came in her room looking for Rudy.
"Victor (her husband) and I jumped out of bed," Tina Torres said.
Torres said that her husband rode a bike and she drove all around the neighborhood looking for Rudy. The next morning they posted 40 fliers and called everyone they could think of who might have found him. Around 2 p.m. the next day, animal services called saying that a man found their dog in a canal.
"My heart sunk," Torres said. "I didn't know what shape he was in."
When the Torres family arrived to pick up Rudy, they saw that he was lethargic and wobbling but they were glad to find him alive.
Rudy's fate could have been tragic had the workers not been there.
"The reason he (Morelli) was on scene was because of the adopt a canal program," said Steve Naso, Morelli's supervisor.
Public works employees stop by blue trash barrels along the canal either weekly or biweekly to scoop out trash and debris. Morelli and Martinez were out taking care of the bins when they spotted Rudy.
Morelli said nine times out of 10 the animal doesn't make it out of the canal.
"Most dogs are runners," Naso said. "They don't realize. Most of the time they're not alive (when found)."
After the Torres brought Rudy back home he started to have difficulty breathing. He was rushed to Chiquita Animal Hospital, and employees there determined Rudy's lungs were full of water. He had consumed a lot of salt water and debris.
"He was drowning," Torres said. "That was basically what was happening inside (his lungs)."
The doctor said Rudy was lucky to be alive.
Rudy has been with the family for nine years, and the Torres also have a toy poodle named Toby.
"He loves everybody," Torres said. "He gets so upset if he doesn't get attention. We're just so thankful."
Rudy is expected to make a full recovery.
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