The young man was determined not to let anything stand in the way of rescuing the stranded dog, even if it meant going down a canal and crossing it.

Mr Kelvin Loo, who was at the scene on Saturday (October 9), recounted the incident to Stomp.

He and his wife were walking their dog on a bridge near the Siglap Canal when they heard a “weak dog bark” and noticed a small white dog stranded in the canal.

“There was already a father-and-son cycling team already trying to organize a rescue,” Loo said.

They assessed the channel for an access point to get off and rescue the dog, and located a staircase leading to the bottom of the channel at the opposite end.

Mr Loo said that meant the rescuer would have to cross the canal.

“The cyclists and I were reluctant to take the risk and we were considering calling a competent service that would be better equipped to mount rescue,” he said, adding that it was dark at the time.

At this point a young man walked by and after finding out what had happened he volunteered to organize the rescue.

The young man, later identified as Mike, said, “I can’t let him go, there is an animal involved here”, and took action.

“He left his things by the side of the canal and asked my wife to take care of them while he tried to jump into the canal,” said Mr. Loo, who then directed him to the stairs. the other side.

When Mr Loo warned Mike of the risks involved, the young man said he was trained for outdoor adventure in Pulau Ubin and was confident he could carry out the rescue.

“Once he reached the stranded dog, he calmed it down by stroking it several times before picking it up,” he said.

“He then carefully crossed the canal and walked up the stairs with the dog in his arms.”

The dog turned out to be partially blind.

By this time, a crowd had gathered to watch the rescue operation. One woman among them managed to locate the owner of the dog through her WhatsApp chat group and informed the owner of their location.

A young cyclist arrived shortly after and identified herself as the owner.

“She was grateful that we found her dog,” Mr. Loo said.

Hearing that Mike was the hero, the young woman “started to cry and was so upset that she knelt down”.

“Fifteen minutes later, as my wife and I were returning, the canal filled with incoming tidal water,” Mr. Loo said. “The dog would have drowned if Mike hadn’t organized the rescue in time.”

This article first appeared in The new paper. Permission required for reproduction.