38 dogs were close to drowning on a Mississippi lake. Some fishermen had rather a catch

By JEFF MARTIN

Associated Press

ATLANTA-- By the time fishermen identified the first head bobbing above the water, the 38 dogs were exhausted and struggling to stay alive.

The hound pets had actually plunged into a large Mississippi lake while going after a deer, a diversion throughout a fox hunt. Bob Gist, who was fishing on the lake, knew they had no possibility.

" A deer can swim the Mississippi River, and those canines are not going to capture a deer in the water," he recalled Friday.

They weren't going to survive, either, Gist and the others realized-- unless somebody acted immediately. The insurance agent from Jonesboro, Arkansas, in addition to pal Brad Carlisle and guide Jordan Chrestman, headed over in their small boat.

" There were pets everywhere," Gist said. "They were kind of swimming in circles and didn't understand which direction to go."

As the pet dogs' frantic owners seen from the shore, the three guys started getting whatever canines they could. There were a lot of to all fit on the bass boat, so three journeys to shore were required.

A picture Gist took throughout the rescue reveals Carlisle standing and grinning in mirrored sunglasses, with more than a half-dozen of the hound dogs set down on the bow. Numbers from the fox hunt are painted on their sides.

Other pets are supporting the seats-- 2 of them calmly looking ahead as Chrestman, next to them, guides.

" The hero here is Jordan," Gist stated, as the guide had actually recognized the risk and sped the boat over. "If it wasn't for Jordan, there would have been 38 dead pet dogs."

The canines had probably remained in the water for about 15 or 20 minutes by then, Gist stated. Some of them were so worn out that the males needed to reach into the water and raise their go out. Each canine was then heaved aboard.

By the time the last were saved, they had actually been in the water for 45 minutes to an hour, Gist said.

Pet dogs, especially when searching, can "follow game relentlessly, as in this case," said Chris Gurner, a natural resource professional with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which patrols Grenada Lake-- however he called it rare for them to go that far from coast. Even though they were on a fox hunt, it's not unusual for the pets to go after any animal that shocked them, he stated.

" Opportunities to assist someone remain in front people all the time," Gist stated. "Sometimes if you see something, do something."