Missing German Shepherd Pulled From Creek After Hours In The Water

March 1, 2026

Thanks to two quick-thinking bystanders, a German Shepherd trapped for hours in a creek is safely back home.

Leavenworth County Fire District 2

Destiny Mesias and her boyfriend, Kevin Pauly, were near Stranger Creek when they heard what sounded like a dog crying out from the woods. At first, it wasn’t clear where the sound was coming from.

“I think there’s a dog over there in the woods, hurt, you know, crying,” Mesias recalled. As Pauly searched the area, he noticed the water shifting. “He seen the water move, and he was like, the dog’s in the water.”

There, trapped in the creek with steep, slick banks on either side, was a German Shepherd unable to climb out.

Without hesitation, Pauly climbed down and worked to keep the exhausted dog afloat. He secured a ratchet strap around the dog’s waist and carefully held its head above the water while waiting for help to arrive.

“First got there, I just stuck my hand out and tried to talk to him, and then he just whined at me,” Pauly said. “So I got down and felt comfortable putting the strap all the way around his whole waist.”

The situation was urgent. Pauly said the dog repeatedly began losing consciousness.

“Held his head up a little bit, we just kept talking to him as he kept trying to nod off into the water,” he explained.

When crews from Leavenworth County Fire District 2 arrived, they determined the dog had likely been in the water for three to four hours. The bank above the creek stood about 15 feet tall, making the rescue challenging.

Assistant Chief Dylan Ritter said ropes were needed to reach the water safely.

“The bank is probably 15 feet tall, so we were able to use some ropes to get our people down to the water and get a rope around the dog to get it out,” Ritter said.

When firefighters finally pulled the German Shepherd to safety, the dog’s back legs gave out from sheer exhaustion — but he was out of danger.

“It was really heartwarming to know that we were able to first execute the rescue proficiently and get the dog out of harm’s way and for the sheriff’s department and Riverview Rescue to get that canine on the road to recovery and find its owner,” Ritter said.

After the rescue, the dog was taken to Riverview Rescue for care. Soon after, the happy ending everyone hoped for became reality: the German Shepherd was reunited with his owner, who shared that the dog had been missing for two days.

“It was really nice to be able to reconnect him. The dad was super excited. The dog was super excited,” said Levi Monahan, director of Riverview Rescue.