NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In spring 1997 a woman named Barbie Cantwell witnessed a dog struggling to stay afloat in the canals behind her home.
At 14-years-old her first response was to run to the rescue.
Cantwell ended up saving the dogs life after enduring a bite from the dog on her forearm.
24 years later, on the same canal on General Collins Avenue in Algiers another dog was rescued.
This time it was Barbie’s own daughter Julie who rescued a young pit bull terrier frantically trying to escape.
Julie was able to gain the dogs trust and walk it to a dry patch in the canal where neighbors helped pull the dog out.
After feeding the terrier at a neighbors house they moved him a few doors down to the home of a Humane Society member.
Later on, volunteers transferred the likable dog to the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where he will be held until his owners reclaim him or he is placed up for adoption.
The Humane Society awarded Julie with several large plush dog toys for her pets and a $100 PetsMart gift certificate to show their appreciation for rescuing this dog.