Man and large dogs successfully rescued from riverbank

PALMER — Emergency responders turned out in force Thursday night to rescue a man and his two big dogs from the banks of the Matanuska River.

According to a press release from the city of Palmer’s Director of Emergency Services, Jon Owen, the call to respond came in shortly after 8 p.m. The riverbank in question is behind Sherrod Elementary School.

“The dogs had apparently slid off the embankment, and when the man went to rescue the dogs, he slid down as well,” Owen wrote in his press release.

Photos from the ensuing rescue show the man and his dogs standing on a small patch of sand about a foot away from the river’s rushing waters.

City police officers and firefighters were called out first, then the Mat-Su Borough’s Dive Rescue Team.

The fire chief, John McNutt, and a fire captain, John Prevost, rappelled down to the man, made sure he was safe, then settled on a rescue plan.

McNutt, “placed webbing equipment on the smaller dog (who was larger than 100 pounds) and the dog was lifted up the embankment to safety,” according to the press release.

The man and the other “very large” dog waited for the borough’s airboat to arrive.

The whole operation was wrapped up by 9:48 p.m., according to Owen.