Meet Sarge, a veteran rescue dog who is always up for adventure, but sometimes gets into trouble. Sarge usually manages to get himself out of sticky situations, but after recently getting stuck in a canal, he really needed some help. Officers Sara Gianino and Allyson Steinkamp arrived at the scene after receiving a complaint about a dog having difficulty swimming in the channel from the Lighthouse Point Police Department (LPD). They eventually found the frightened dog after taking a detour.
„He couldn’t get out because the sea wall was too high and the tide was too low,“ said officer Sarah Giannino. And it didn’t look like he was going to be able to swim for long.“ Officers quickly searched for a place to stand along the perimeter of the passage, but found nothing stable enough to support them. With time running out, they opted for the only option available.
„We’ve determined that a broken dock will give you the best chance of getting the dog out of the water,“ the LHPPD wrote on Facebook. You can watch the harrowing rescue here. Police made a quick choice after navigating along the damaged quay. Gianno recalls: „We quickly took off our gear and dived in to save him.“ Gianno dove in first, straining to hoist the dog onto his companion on the dock. As she did so, an oblivious family passed her boat. Charles King, one of the group, noticed what was happening and jumped into the water to help.
The sergeant was picked up by King and Gianno and swam with them to the dock. Perched on the broken dock, Steinkamp reached out to the 80-pound dog and they worked together to hoist him out of the sea. Fortunately, Steinkamp was able to grab the conductor by the collar and pull him to his side. As soon as his paws touched the dock, Banjo’s tail began to wag, excited to finally be safe. Steinkamp greeted Banjo and gave him a few pats on the back to let him know everything was going to be okay. „He’s very happy to be out,“ Giannino said. He is super happy.” The Sergeant-at-Arms was immediately reunited with his „lover“ Jenny and his mother Alex Griffin. Luckily, the canine adventurer is once again snoozing with his family and chewing on his favorite toy in the safety of his home. And from now on, his humans will be watching him closely to make sure he gets out of trouble.
