A K-9 handler's quick actions rescued the police dog after it jumped without warning from a high-rise bridge over the Indian River.IMAGE: Broward County Sheriffs Office
K-9 Deputy Lauren Donaldson got the scare of her life when her partner, K-9 ‘Zeppelin,’ decided to leap over the bridge’s guard rail and off the bridge that is approximately 75 feet above the surface of the water,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a March 21 Facebook post.
The post goes on to say, “Thankfully, Lauren responded quickly to ‘Zeppelin’s’ actions by tightly holding on to his lead, immediately bracing her feet against the railing, and then somehow, reaching over the guard rail and pulling ‘Zeppelin’ back onto the bridge!”
The dash cam captured the entire incident. The video shows Zeppelin trying to grab the top of the concrete wall before vanishing. Donaldson holds the leash tight and pulls her partner from the abyss. According to the report, the episode only lasts six seconds and the K-9 team walks away as if nothing happened.
“Lauren’s rescue of her beloved partner is even more amazing when you consider that ‘Zeppelin, a Belgian Malinois, weighs approximately 75 pounds and Lauren weighs 122 pounds when she is soaking wet and holding a bowling ball,” Brevard County Sheriff Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the press release.
“Somehow she managed to not panic and pull ‘Zeppelin’ back to safety!!,” he adds. “Without Lauren’s fast action there is no question Zeppelin would have fallen ... most likely to his death!”
According to officials, Donaldson has been a member of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for 14 years. Neither she nor Zeppelin were harmed in the incident, the department reported.
