A Good Samaritan who can’t swim rescued a dog which was stranded in the middle of a lake by wading into the freezing water – in his PANTS.
Brave Simon Whittaker, 45, was walking his own pooch when he spotted the collie stranded on a small wooded island on Saturday afternoon (18/12).
He called the RSPCA and emergency services but none of them were able to come and the animal was still trapped when he spotted it again at 5am the next day.
Simon, who can’t swim, decided to rescue the dog himself along with the help of the fisherman who was angling nearby.
Dramatic pictures of the rescue show the two men wading in the water, which is above their waists, to reach the island in the middle of Heatherton Pond in Derby.
Dad-of-two Simon can then be seen standing at the island in just a white pair of pants as he coaxes the dog towards the fisherman.
His wife Wendy, 46, who watched the rescue with their two sons Joe, 14, and Ted, 11, said: “He went back later on after the walk and thought he heard somebody shouting the dog but couldn’t see much.
“He couldn’t really rest and he went back to the pond at about 5am on Sunday and the dog was still there.
“Simon, who can’t swim, told me he was going to go and get the dog from the island.
“We spoke to a man who was there fishing. The man had his waders with him and he walked with Simon for some of the way.
“Simon got to the island, minus his socks and the dog swam to the bank with him and we bought him home.
“The poor dog was shaking, he was cold and he was absolutely starving and I think he had hurt his leg.
“I put the heating on and we fed him and got him warm again.
“We calculated that he’d been on that island for at least 19 hours.”
Toyota worker Simon and journalist Wendy have now managed to reunited the two-year-old collie, which is called Hurley, with its owners.
They believe the dog was from a family who are new to the area and could’ve gone missing after chasing ducks across the pond.
Wendy added: “I have bought Simon a pair of socks for Christmas since he lost his during the rescue.
“He was standing there in just a pair of underpants but he can’t swim so I was really worried and it was brave of him.”
