Dogs drag toddler from dam

by **Steve** on Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:06 pm

TWO family dogs are being hailed as heroes after they saved a two-year-old boy from drowning in a dam at a property near Mackay yesterday morning.
Police said the dogs, a Rottweiler cross and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, dragged the boy from the water after he had wandered on to a neighbouring property's dam.

The owner of the property had heard a noise about 11am and had run to the dam, which was about 100 m from the house.

The woman found the boy lying on the embankment of the dam covered in mud with the two dogs, usually thought of as aggressive breeds, by his side.

Police said there were drag marks from the waters edge to where the boy was lying and small scratches on his arms from the dog's claws.

"We are certain the dogs pulled him out of the dam," a police spokesman said.

"It is an amazing story."

The Queensland Ambulance Service said the mother and child were taken to Mackay Base Hospital as a precaution, and the child did not need CPR.

They were believed to recovering at home yesterday evening.