Dog, Los Angeles Firefighter Recovering After River Rescue.

Fox News Website ^ | 01/23/2010 | Staff

[L.A.Justice]

A California firefighter who was bit by a German shepherd as he hoisted the dog to safety from the Los Angeles River on Friday is not holding it against the frightened dog.

Joe St. Georges, a 25-year veteran of the L.A. Fire Department, told Fox News on Saturday that he suffered severe hand and arm injuries during the heroic helicopter rescue but is recovering.

[erman]

Careful Pal, I got flamed bad a couple years ago when I suggested besides being a good training exercise, a sniper would be more humane than a massive rescue effort to save a couple dogs that fell through the ice.

This rescue was just stupid.

thanks for the warning...

[Lion Den Dan]

Thank God it is just you! I’d never want to have anything to do with someone like you.

Don't thank Him too quickly. I am relieved that you and I won't be having much commerce as I I too, don't think much of deploying all the high value assets in a high risk rescue of a dog,

[visualops]

Watching that video, I’m sorry but that was very stupid and dangerous rescue. The dog was not drowning, it was standing on the concrete bank. The dog would have gotten out on his own eventually. To make a helicopter rescue in bad weather is dangerous.

[McGavin999]

OK, so there are two of you. Don't think much of those who are unwilling perform their duties of stewards.

Those low value dogs sniff out drugs and bombs, take care of preditors, keep livestock safe (you know, the stuff you eat), go after criminals in places humans can't go, sniff out cadavers, rescue lost children etc. But you go ahead and disparage them as unworthy of your time and attention.

[Lion Den Dan]

OK, so there are two of you.

Would you risk as much to save a dog as you would to stop/prevent an abortion?

[McGavin999]

Oh come on! Where was an abortion being performed in that river!

[Lion Den Dan]

Oh come on! Where was an abortion being performed in that river!

Oh, come on! Answer my question. (Bet you won't.)

[McGavin999]

I just did, you just refuse my answer. There was no abortion being performed that a fireman swooping in on a line from a helo would have stopped. Why do you want to kill animals?

[jwparkerjr]

I asked my son about this. He is a helicopter pilot and flies every work day of his life. Actually every night, he's on from dusk to dawn more or less.

He says you can read all the tips and pointers you want about handling bad weather, restricted areas, etc. but unless you actually fly in those conditions you have no experience dealing with them. True, it's a dog this time, but it might be a child next time.

And he says there's a certain amount of just pure challenge in handling those conditions. He's a pretty level headed kid, 46-years-old, and speaks frequently of no-go decisions based on the weather or other circumstances, so I tend to take his observations overall.

That kind of flying is unique and it takes a good deal of currency in various conditions to maintain the skills that make you good at it.

[ishabibble]

I have a German Shepard and I love him to death, but he is as dumb as a box of rocks. He would totally get himself in a situation like this, and probably get himself out because he runs on pure instinct. I agree with you completely. No dog is worth more than a human being. This rescue was wrong.

[Ditter]

I am a HUGE dog lover and I have 4 right now that I dote on, but you are right...... they are just dogs. I came to this conclusion many years ago when my husband swerved on the highway to miss a dog. The dog doubled back and we hit it anyway and then found ourselves going backward on the wrong side of the highway. We ended up in a muddy ditch and had to get a wrecker to pull us out. This was the early 60's and we had no seat belts and I had our infant son in my arms. If there had been another vehicle coming in the opposite direction we would have died instantly........ for a dog.

[Ditto]

Joe St. Georges, a 25-year veteran of the L.A. Fire Department, told Fox News on Saturday that he suffered severe hand and arm injuries during the heroic helicopter rescue but is recovering.

He's lucky that's all that happened to him. I like dogs as much as the next guy, but a dog is never worth a human life. You would have thought one of this guys supervisors whould have been screaming into the radio to call off that rescue. It was a foolish thing to do.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

People who have families and support kids do dangerous jobs everyday. It is what this man chose to do for a living. I am sure it isn’t the first dangerous rescue he’s been on and hopefully it won’t be his last. If you can’t get a good feeling from a story like this, watching a human being do what he loves to do, rescuing and saving one of God’s creatures, be it human or animal, then I feel sorry for you. It is EXACTLY this kind of thing that makes one appreciate the fact that there are indeed a lot of good people out there.

[erman]

If you can’t get a good feeling from a story like this, watching a human being do what he loves to do, rescuing and saving one of God’s creatures, be it human or animal, then I feel sorry for you. It is EXACTLY this kind of thing that makes one appreciate the fact that there are indeed a lot of good people out there.

Hey, I didn't say I "feel" good that the pilot and firefighter made is back home safely. I do. I didn't know that LAFD was their for animal rescue.

I think sanctimonious douche bags that spout off about how " It is what this man chose to do for a living. I am sure it isn’t the first dangerous rescue he’s been on and hopefully it won’t be his last." don't know anything about what it's like to really lose a friend or friends that may die doing "simple helicopter" transports and rescues. It's dangerous... yeah they signed up for it and most of the guys and gals that are on those units love it and love to help people. It's a calling... but for you to sit there and somehow think it's even close to putting a living human being with wife and kids or innocent bystanders at risk for a dog is pathetic.

so sit there behind your keyboard and make yourself feel morally superior to spout off about something you know nothing about .. oh by the way... don't "feel sorry for me".. in fact feel nothing for me. Save it for some dog or cat.

these were my friends

I have yet to find a cat or dog that was worth their life. They gave their life transporting a patient who also died in the crash. There isn't and hasn't been a dog I know that was worth their lives. They also signed up for dangerous work, so we can disagree. I have friends that fly for the Houston PD and in other medical transport services, none of them is worth 100 dogs.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

You might want to consider switching to decaf.

[erman]

You might want to consider switching to decaf.

[GnuHere]

Knowing the dog would be scared to death, I don’t understand why the FF didn’t get some protection for his arms and throat from some canine officers; maybe it would have impaired his mobility too much. Still, I look at this as a good training exercise in case next time it’s a human out there, as opposed to those who think it’s a waste of money.

[Deb]

I think they were considering time. The water was rising. The dog kept slipping off the cement thingy and was losing the strength to stand.

I watched it from the beginning and I couldn't believe how long the dog was able to walk along that tiny barrier. It was wet, freezing, exhausted and terrified and I never thought for a second it could be rescued. Firemen, policemen, soldiers and rescue workers are gifts from God. There should be a better word than "hero".

[Deb]

Shepard Smith read a very funny email from a viewer who agreed with you. He said he'd grab the dog..."After I shot it!". He went on about the waste of money and that "bleeding heart" events like this were the reason California was in the shape it was in. Pretty funny, really. He was the first to put it into perspective.

Practically speaking, of course, you're right and the real jerks were the members of the media who put the whole thing on national TV because it could have ended with dog, man and copter crew dead, but just watching that small miracle was an emotional reprieve from everything else going on around us.

Thank God that firefighter volunteered. Thank God he had the strength to hold on and the bravery to ignore the pain. And thank God for men. They knock me out everyday in a million ways.

[b9]

And thank God for men. They knock me out everyday in a million ways.

Excellent, just excellent.
:::ping::: to Finny ~ another woman after your own heart!