North Shields dog owner praises 'hero' who saved French Bulldog puppy from drowning in River Tyne

A dog owner has said that she is eternally grateful to a man who risked his life to save her puppy.

Five-month-old Onyx slipped into the River Tyne in Northumberland while on a walk on Friday 14 April.

Owner, 25-year-old Ally Temple from North Shields, had left the French Bulldog with her mother Shirley, who took Onyx to Prudhoe Riverside Park when disaster struck.

A quick-thinking passerby was on hand to jump straight into the river and rescue Onyx.

Once he had returned Onyx to Shirley, she took him straight to the vets where he was checked over and given antibiotics to get rid of any bacteria from the river and water on his lungs.

A further check-up a few days later confirmed that Onyx has made a full recovery, to his owner's delight.

Ms Temple said: "I'm absolutely overwhelmed, I couldn't thank him enough. Obviously I know it's extremely silly of him, but we're very, very grateful to him for jumping in.

"My beautiful boy would not be here without this hero, and I am eternally grateful that this man risked his life for my puppy.

"It goes to show, there are still some amazing, caring people in this mad world."

She finished with a word of advice for other dog users: "Onyx is fully trained on and off lead, this was just an unfortunate freak accident. I cannot stress enough how careful everyone, not just dogs, needs to be around the water as this could have ended with a completely different outcome."

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