Dog helps owner climb from river after fall

Melanie Buchanan said she struggled to climb up the riverbank after falling into the water

A woman who pulled herself out of a river with help from her dog said she believed she was going to die.

Melanie Buchanan was walking her dog, Symphony, along the River Derwent in Malton on 9 October when her pet fell in the water and she slipped in while trying to help the animal.

The Portuguese water dog climbed out but Ms Buchanan said she spent an hour in the water before Symphony came close enough for her to grab her harness and pull herself out.

“She saved my life for sure, I wouldn’t have got out of there without her,” Ms Buchanan said.

Ms Buchanan, from Norton, has owned ten Portuguese water dogs including Symphony, Steps and Hovis

Ms Buchanan, from Norton, said the water was up to her knees before she felt the ground give way beneath her.

“The ground kept sinking below me and I ended up going in above my head.”

She said she started to panic as the bank was "continually collapsing, there was nothing to grip onto”.

"I thought I was going to die," she said.

Ms Buchanan said she had spent more than an hour in the water when two-year-old Symphony came to the edge of the water and stood still.

She said she was able to dig her feet into the mud and hold on to her dog's harness, which enabled her to climb out of the river.

Ms Buchannan said Symphony’s “bravery was just incredible and something that I could never forget”.

Portuguese water dogs were known for helping fishermen drive their catch into the nets and carrying messages between boats.

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