Talk about a bad day: Old, blind, stumbling around in traffic on a busy street, then falling off an eight-foot bank and plunging into the icy water of Mill Creek in Cobleskill.
But Thursday turned out to be Georgie’s lucky day after all.
Soaked and shivering, the little dog was plucked from the water by Cobleskill Police Officer Matt Egnor, with passersby lending a hand.
Georgie is a Lhasa apso, nearly 12 years old, who wandered off from his North Grand Street yard and survived several near-death experiences.
His owner, Rose Mary Smith of 280 North Grand, let Georgie outside as usual about 11am.
“He’s blind, but he knows his way around the yard,” Ms. Smith said later. “He never leaves. When he’s ready to come in, he stands by the door and barks.”
This time, however, “his nose led him to the Youth Center” nearby, Ms. Smith said. “I couldn’t find him. I was frantic.”
Help wasn’t too far off. Brent Speedling and his mother, Bambi, of J&B Oil were delivering fuel nearby, and Ms. Speedling stopped to get Georgie out of traffic.
“We tried to pick him up, but he was too scared,” Ms. Speedling said.
Georgie’s adventure took a turn for the worse when he tumbled over the retaining wall and dropped into Mill Creek.
Ms. Speedling then flagged down Officer Egnor, who was on a routine patrol on North Grand.
“He was partly submerged, but I couldn’t jump in there because the bank was too high,” Officer Egnor said.
He ran to the point where the creek passes under Clinton Creek and hopped down from a lower spot on the bank.
Meanwhile, Georgie had washed down to just past the Elm Street bridge over the creek.
Officer Egnor managed to stay on dry ground part of the way but waded into the knee-deep ice water to reach Georgie, clinging to a rock in the stream.
He carried the dog––about the size of a cocker spaniel––back to the Clinton Circle bank. Mr. Speedling stripped off his heavy winter coat, and Ms. Speedling wrapped the trembling Georgie in it.
She and Georgie piled into the back of Officer Egnor’s patrol car, and he whisked them to the Cobleskill Veterinary Clinic in Lawyersville.
“That policeman was a very good guy,” Ms. Speedling said. “I just thank God we were able to save the dog.”
Officer Egnor agreed, though downplaying his role.
“Of course it was worth it,” he said. “If I hadn’t been there, I hope somebody else would have done the same thing.”
Back home now, Georgie is at least a bit warmer. But he’s not going to wander again, Ms. Smith said. It’s a leash for Georgie from now on.
“I’m very, very grateful to Officer Egnor and everyone else who helped,” she said. “We’re glad to have Georgie back.”