Story Photos
 Dave Prouty of Battle Ground pats Toby while his grandson, Wyatt Smith, plays with a flashlight. Roger Werth / The Daily News
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Family rescues its dog from well
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:53 PM PDT
By Carrie Pederson
cpederson@tdn.com
Printable version
E-mail this articleAll this story lacks is Timmy running for help.
It certainly has the requisite happy ending, with 4-year-old Toby, a Great Dane, nothing more than a little shaky after being rescued from a well in Rainier on Tuesday afternoon.
"His muscles are so tired," said the dog's owner, Dave Prouty of Battle Ground.
But he will be fine, Prouty said, as he gave Toby reassuring pats outside his daughter's home in Rainier late Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier in the afternoon, Toby was roaming carefree and enjoying the dog days of summer when he fell down a neighbor's hard-to-see well near Warren Road.
Nathan Smith, Prouty's son-in-law, was working on his roof when he heard the dog whining about 75 feet away. Toby had been gone at least a couple of hours, Smith said.
Toby had caught a ledge with his legs, said Prouty, and was holding his head just above the water line of the 20 to 30 foot well.
"You looked down to see that guy looking up at you. It was so sad," Prouty said.
With Toby's life at stake, Smith and his brother, Anthony Smith, took action before the Clatskanie Fire Department arrived.
The well was too deep for a ladder, so they tied the ladder to a rope and lowered it down. Nathan tied a rope around the 150 pound dog and Anthony pulled the rope while Nathan pushed Toby. Then Nathan used the rope to climb out of the well. The brothers had Toby out before the fire department arrived.
"It wasn't a big deal," Nathan Smith said.
"I didn't think (Toby) was ever coming out," Prouty said. "I thought he was gonna drown."
Prouty, who has two grandchildren under the age of 3, says he's glad to have discovered the well before a child fell in. "It might be a blessing in disguise," he said.
Rural Citizen wrote on Sep 17, 2008 8:59 AM:
Or wasn't that important enough to add to the story? "
DUH wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:23 AM:
Silly Billy wrote on Sep 17, 2008 11:25 AM:
Hershey's Squirt wrote on Sep 17, 2008 11:59 AM:
reality wrote on Sep 17, 2008 1:32 PM:
unbelieveable wrote on Sep 17, 2008 1:56 PM:
To the owners of the dog: I am glad you got him back! What a lucky dog he is!
To the rescue men: What brave, awesome men you are!
To everyone else....think of how awesome this story is! A happy ending! "
justa_name wrote on Sep 17, 2008 2:39 PM:
Kaijakoira wrote on Sep 17, 2008 2:53 PM:
imho wrote on Sep 17, 2008 3:18 PM:
wayjo wrote on Sep 17, 2008 6:28 PM:
An open well is unconscionable and those who think this is nothing more than a feel good story are way out of line, IMO. Call it negative, ok, but I call it thank God a child was not the one pulled from the well. Doubt the outcome would have been anywhere close to the same. "
yakvetnurse wrote on Sep 17, 2008 8:28 PM:
country gal wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:53 PM:
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