Hans Nagrath was running along the Charles River on Boston Marathon Monday, with Benny, his 2-year-old goldendoodle, off leash at his side. All it took was spotting two geese for the dog to jump into the water without looking back, and none of his calls did any good.
Nagrath didn’t hesitate: he jumped in after him into water that was 4 degrees. Within seconds he felt his arms stop responding. “I thought I wasn’t going to be able to move them, and I didn’t know what was going to happen”, he said afterward. Without the strength to hold on to Benny, he kept pushing him toward the shore and, when the dog started to sink, he lifted him by his hind legs.
Both made it to land alive. Someone put a marathon blanket on Benny, and Nagrath, still trembling, admitted that he had never felt so afraid. Even so, he said he would do it again without thinking twice. 🐶💙