East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

She was wet and shivering, but she licked her rescuers, her owners and everyone else in appreciation as she donned her Scooby Doo blanket.

Patches the dog went for a swim this morning, but it was in water she might not want to swim in again — she was at the bottom of a 100-foot deep water well.

Bryan and Laura Barrett said they were sitting on their porch this morning when they heard what sounded like a crash.

“I heard a metal crashing sound and wondered what had happened,” Bryan said.

When he went to a shed to the side of his home on County Road 1145, he thought he should check and see if something was in the shed.

“I looked in the shed and heard all of this splashing, so I thought I better look in the well. When I shone the flashlight in there I saw Patches,” he said, petting the dog someone dropped off in front of the couple’s home two years ago.

Bryan called 911 and Smith County dispatchers sent Dixie firefighters Eric Lowry, Mike Stewart and Capt. Mike Turbeville to the scene where they quickly went to work to rescue the pooch from the murky, concrete confines.

Using ropes attached to a milk crate, they were able to fish Patches from the depths.

“We were hoping that this would work,” Lowry said. “If it didn’t, then we were going to have to call for mutual aid and lower someone down to get her.”

But the firefighters were able to breathe easier because Patches sat down in the milk crate and remained still as they hoisted her to safety.

Bryan assured firefighters that he would get a cover for the well and that the shed would remain locked until it could be secured with a proper cover.

“We had a temporary cover on it and a lock on the shed so I don’t know how she got in there right now, but it scared me to death. Patches is the best dog I’ve ever had,” he said.

Laura agreed with her husband saying Patches was more like a family member than a pet.

The Barretts thanked the firefighters, who due to the Emergency Services District 2 are paid and on duty during the day, for saving their dog’s life.

“They saved her life, that’s for sure and I am very grateful. I was so scared when I saw her in the well and when they got her out I was and I am still very ecstatic,” Bryan said.

Dixie firefighters (l-r) Eric Lowry, Mike Stewart, Capt. Mike Turbeville and Patches owner Bryan Barrett are all smiles after her successful rescue from an old water well in Barrett's yard.
(Staff photo by Jaime R. Carrero)