AFD Dog Rescue
Photo of Austin firefighters rescuing dog from flooding goes viral
A photo of two of Austin's finest, firefighters Matt Harvey and Michael Cooper, rescuing a dog during yesterday's devastating flooding in South Austin has gone viral less than 24 hours after AFD posted it on its Facebook page.
In addition to its being shared on Reddit, Twitter and Facebook, the Huffington Post, the Hollywood Gossip, AOL and the UK's Daily Mail have also run the photo, which was snapped near William Cannon Drive and Pleasant Valley Road on Thursday. Said the fire department, "We don't just rescue two-legged victims, we love our four-legged friends as well." And, we should say, they look mighty good doing it.
Storms on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning brought more than 12 inches of rain to the region, killing two and forcing thousands to evacuate. Both the AFD and the Austin Police Department responded to hundreds of calls from people around the area. According to AFD spokesperson Michelle Tanzola, the department has responded to 109 flood-related incidents and have rescued more than 200 people since Thursday.
This isn't the first time the AFD has received attention for going beyond the call of duty for our four-legged friends. In July, PETA awarded the department the Compassionate Fire Department Award after firefighter David Dickerson rescued a dog from a burning house on Poquito Street.