Bryant Fritz is a middle school science teacher at Next Generation School in Champaign, Illinois. He was out fishing over the weekend when he spotted something. As he got closer to the unidentified object, he was dumbstruck. He couldn’t believe his eyes when the full picture came into focus. Sticking out of the surface of Lake Kaufman was a puppy trapped inside a cage, halfway submerged in the frigid water.
He Waded Into the Water to Save the Dying Puppy
Bryant stripped off his several layers of sweatshirts as he waded into the water to save the freezing pup. The closer he got, the poor little pup knew she was getting the help she so desperately needed. As he got waist deep into the water, she started shaking uncontrollably. He carefully carried the cage onto dry land.
He didn’t think the poor girl was going to make it. He rushed her to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital where they immediately got to work on her. She had open wounds on her body with patches of skin missing. The vet team stated on Facebook, “The dog arrived with wounds that did not appear to be related to her time in the water.” Raw exposed skin was plainly visible.
Of course, she was suffering from hypothermia and vets at the teaching hospital said that she was unresponsive at first. Her body temperature was so low that the vets could not even get a reading on a thermometer when she first arrived. It took more than 3 hours of warming efforts to get her temperature back to normal. The team has named her Dory. Thank goodness this girl just kept swimming.
A Happy Ending from a Fated Meeting
Bryant’s own dog passed away a few years ago and he’s been thinking about getting another one. He has visited shelters with the knowledge that whomever he was supposed to adopt would be made clear to him. His experience saving Dory made things crystal clear.
He plans to take Dory home forever once she is adoptable. She will be under continual care with animal control services until the police investigation is concluded and she is well enough to go home with Bryant. We cannot wait to see the photos of them being reunited to go home together, forever.