The Great Puppy Rescue

Hi! My name is Max. My heart belongs to a 9 year-old boy named David Sharp. I want to tell you a story about how he courageously saved my life when I was a little puppy. The story, which has now become known as “The Legend of the Great Puppy Rescue”, goes like this:

When I was about six weeks old, my former owner left my twin sister and me all alone on the side of a deserted road at Badin Lake. We eventually found an old trailer to hang-out under… but we were both really scared and VERY hungry.

A couple of days later, on a cold winter morning, a couple of nice boys (David and his brother Nathan) showed up and gave us some food. We quickly started to get our strength back. Before long, we were running and jumping and having a great time playing with our new friends. They even gave us really cool names — “Max” for me, “Roxanne” for my sister. I’d never had a name before, so I knew this was going to be an exciting day. I just didn’t know how exciting.

That afternoon, David and Nathan went out for a boat ride on Badin Lake with their mom and dad. After a while, I really started to miss my new friends so I decided to jump in the lake and see if I could find them. Well, there were two very important things I didn’t know. First, I didn’t know how to swim very well. Second, I didn’t know the water was going to be so cold!

Well, as soon as I jumped in the water, I did know one thing for sure — I needed to get out, and FAST! I swam under their dock to try and get out of the water near the shore. I crawled through some big rocks and tried to squeeze myself out of the water between the first and second steps on the dock. Well, my head got through the steps fine… but my body was too big. (Roxanne says it was my big belly that got in the way, but I’m convinced it was my massive chest.)

David Sharp and Max

Nevertheless, I was stuck! I couldn’t go backwards because the rocks were in the way. Most of my body was submerged in the freezing water. After a while, I started shaking all over. I was very frightened and I just knew I was a goner.

Lucky for me, my sister Roxanne did not jump in the water with me. After I got stuck, she sat right next to me on top of the dock, barking her head off. When David and Nathan came back from their boat ride, Nathan heard Roxanne barking and came over to see what was the matter. When Nathan saw that I was stuck, he yelled for help. The whole family came running over.

David and Nathan’s Dad tried to pull the step apart so I could get out, but it wouldn’t budge.

Then came the “Moment of Courage.” David’s Dad turned to him and said “David, the only way this puppy is gonna live is if you swim under there and get him.” Peering between the steps, I saw David’s eyes get really big. The water level in the lake was way up, so there was only about six inches of clearance between the surface of the water and the underside of the dock. David was the only one who was small enough to get under the dock and save me, except for Nathan… but he was still learning to swim. (Of course, I could relate to that!)

David Sharp and Max

David patted me on the head and said, “Don’t be scared Max, I’ll get you out of there.” Then he ran up to the trailer and put on a pair of shorts. He hurried back to the dock, put on his Mom’s tennis shoes (hey, he couldn’t mess up his AirWalks!) and jumped into the water to save me. When his head popped up out of the water, I could see that he was in shock. He was standing on the squishy bottom of the lake with freezing water up to his chin. His face was turning blue and his teeth started to chatter a mile a minute.

I was beginning to have my doubts on whether or not David could stir-up enough courage to save me. Well, those doubts didn’t last for long.

The next thing I knew David dove down below the surface of the icy water to get under the dock. Then, with his neck bent backwards and his mouth pressed up against the underneath side of the dock, he began to work his way towards me… dodging spider webs along the way. I could see he was having a tough time breathing. He was trying desperately to keep his nose above water, while maneuvering his way around the rusty nails that had pierced the dock boards above his head.

Finally, David was just a couple of feet away. He stretched out his arms, but he couldn’t reach me. There were a bunch of big rocks in the way. David began to move the rocks away one by one. Finally, I felt him grab me around the waist. He pulled and pulled but I was really scared, and I just wouldn’t let go. Then he pulled really hard, but his hands slipped loose. He hit the back of his head against one of the dock pilings as his body flew backwards. I could tell it really hurt.

For a moment, it looked like I might never get free. But when I glanced at David, I could see the determination in his eyes. I could feel the warmth of the fire in his belly.

He quickly made his way back over to me and grabbed me around the waist once again. I could hear Nathan and his Mom screaming in the background. They were really worried that David was going to get hurt. I heard his Dad above us on the dock say “David, you’re gonna have to pull him as hard as you can.” Then David yanked me with all his might and I felt my body come loose from underneath the step. David held me tightly to his chest as he struggled back through the chilly water to the end of the dock.

After we were both helped out of the water, David’s Mom wrapped us both in a blanket so we could get warm. I can’t tell you how good it felt to snuggle up with David under that blanket. I knew right then that I had a brave, new friend for life. And as it turned out, because of David’s courage, he and Nathan now have two new puppies living with them at their home in Davidson. Yep, you guessed it… me and Roxanne!