[erman]

about the most idiotic thing I've ever seen on TV. I couldn't believe it. A helicopter.... a f'ing helicopter. The weather wasn't great, power lines nearby and an unstable platform and weight coming up the cable.

I would have loved to hear the justification if, God forbid, the chopper had gone down and the pilot and firefighter died.....for a DOG!!!

I've got a German Shepherd and I love her... but I would never put her life over that of a human... especially a firefighter and pilot who have families and support kids...

What kind of PC idiot would risk that for a dog. It was stupid and dangerous.

Yeah.... great. You saved a dog. Put a couple of units out of service for awhile, wasted flight fuel and man hours in a city/county that is going bankrupt.... for a dog that more than likely would have somehow managed to get up the bank or drift down far enough that the water have gone down enough for it to get out on it's own.

When are the choppers and SWAT going to go to the city animal shelter and throw down some flash bangs, make a dynamic entrance and free the dogs about to get put down? I wonder if they could use the APC to just ram through a wall to free the dogs that we KNOW are going to die unless we free them....

I don't know, but somehow I think humans are worth more than animals... but that's just me.

[McGavin999]

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

[ZX12R]

I think humans are worth more than animals... but that's just me.

Yes, humans are worth more, but the fact that someone would risk their lives to save some poor animal, is one glaring example of why.

[cyclotic]

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.

[HereInTheHeartland]

You are right on the money.
This is yet another example of misplaced priorities.

[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.

[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.

[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.