This past Sunday afternoon a man, Adam Shaw, his wife, their two young children and his dog were taking a family hike in Rundle Park in Edmonton, Canada. At the same time two sisters, Krymzen, age 10 and Samara age 9 were enjoying some last minute tobogganing down a hill before Easter dinner around 4:30 pm.

Unexpectantly, the girl's toboggan flew off the snowbank and onto the ice of the river. As they were trying to come back onto the river bank, the ice broke all of a sudden. It was at this time that Adam Shaw and his family heard screaming under the Rundle Park footbridge. According to Shaw, "I looked down to see one young girl floating in the river and her sister trying to pull her out."

As his wife called 911, Shaw ran down to the river with Rocky, his eight-year-old husky-Labrador-retriever mix. Unfortunately by the time he got there, Krymzen, who was struggling to save her sister, Samara, had fallen into the river as well. Shaw was able to grab Krymzen and pull her out of the freezing water, but Samara was now floating down the river.

"She was bobbing in and out and we could barely see her, so we just started running down the ice trying to get close to her. 'Can you swim toward the ice?' Shaw said he yelled to her but she responded that, "She said she couldn't move her arms, couldn't move her legs."

At first he tried throwing his dog's leash out to her but couldn't reach her. He then tried getting closer but ended up crashing through the fragile ice himself, sliding into the frigid water along with his dog, Rocky. As they both thrashed around in the water, Rocky managed to get his legs up on firmer ice with Shaw pushing the dog from behind. By using Rocky's leash, Shaw was also able to pull himself onto the ice.


However in the meantime, Samara had disappeared under the water. After another 50 to 60 [meters] down the river she finally popped back up. Shaw raced towards her again, but she was still too far out to reach the dog's leash. It was at this point that Shaw knew he had to get his dog, Rocky, into the river to swim out to her.

Rocky jumped in, swimming close enough so that Samara could finally grasp the leash. Then according to Shaw, "I called him back and he swam towards the ice and breaking the ice as he was getting closer trying to get up. I managed to grab him and grab the girl's arm and pull them both up onto the ice."


Shaw said he held Samara, who was hypothermic and scared, until the fire-rescue team raced to the scene soon after. The sisters were then taken to the University of Alberta Hospital, where they spent the night, but are now doing just fine.

Shaw later said he wasn't surprised Rocky jumped into the river. "He's a terrific dog. He's very adventurous, always in and out of the water. I knew he could jump in the water and swim back no problem." When Shaw was asked if his actions were heroic, he responded with, "I guess so. We saved their lives and that's all that matters to me."


The father of the two young girls that were rescued from the icy North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton that fateful Sunday afternoon couldn't be more thankful. "I'm very grateful for Adam Shaw and his dog," said Cory Sunshine. "My girls are safe and sound. He is truly our angel."

As for the two heroes, Adam Shaw and his dog, Rocky, they were both honored by the Edmonton Fire Department for their bravery and lifesaving actions. Rocky was given a special reward, which although he didn't know what it was for, thoroughly enjoyed.

Watch the video below for more details.