KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — A three-legged goldendoodle suffering from cancer has been hailed a hero after he rescued a baby otter from a river in the United States.
Gus had jumped into the St. Croix River in Minnesota and returned to shore with a tiny baby otter in his mouth, WCCO reported.
The dog’s owner Cleo Young said her grandchildren Ella and Lucy had watched the six-year-old dog swim far out, seemingly looking for something.
It later returned with the pup and dropped it at the girls’ feet, said Young.
Gus had its hind leg removed in February after veterinarians found a tumour in it.
“We thought, Oh this is going to be so sad, he is not going to be able to run again like he used to, but this has not slowed him down at all,” Young said, adding that Gus was now undergoing chemotherapy.
As for the pup, it was rushed to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (WRC) in Roseville where it got treated.
The team at WRC said if Gus had not rescued the pup, it would likely not have survived.
WRC said the pup was too young to be in the water and should have been in the den with his mother.
He has since been transferred to another rehabilitation centre for additional care.
