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I looked around and saw
that an excited crowd of about a dozen people had gathered at the edge
of the quay about 30 metres behind me, and they were all looking down at
something in the water. I hurried quickly back to that spot, and there
about one and a half metres below the edge of the quay I saw a small dog
floundering about in the water. It had somehow fallen off the quay and
into the harbour. It was vainly trying to claw his way up the slippery
vertical stone wall, but of course it couldn't. I could see that he was
floating all right, but there was no way that he could ever get out, and
the water level was too far below the quay for anybody to reach down and
grab him.
A lady in the crowd was in
tears and screaming loudly ......."Mi perro..... mi perro" .........
but nobody in the crowd of about a dozen people was doing anything positive
to rescue the poor little creature. |
Then I saw that it was a
Yorkshire terrier. And since I am British, and I love dogs, I felt that
it was up to me to do something about saving the poor little pooch from
drowning. I saw that it had a harness ..... but no one could reach it.
So I looked around for inspiration.
Just then, a man came hurrying
to join the crowd, and I spotted that he had a rolled-up umbrella.
I snatched it out of his hand, saying...."Déjame usar esto" ....
and with that I threw myself down on my belly on the edge of the quay,
with my head and shoulders overhanging the water. The unlucky little dog
was struggling vainly just below me, as I gripped the rolled-up umbrella
near its tip, and guided the curved hook-handle towards the dog......
and the webbing harness around its tiny body.
I made a lunge ..... and
by good luck I managed to lodge the hook of the umbrella handle into the
bottom part of the harness although it was out of sight under the water.
Then, as I gently started to lift, to my dismay the dog turned right over
upside down, and his head went underwater....!
There was a loud piercing
scream in my ear....!
The lady was now down on
her hands and knees next to me .... and she was screaming hysterically....
"Chiquito......Chiquito" (presumably the dogs name).
 Wincing
from the lady's screams, but undaunted, I gently continued to lift. The
little Yorkie emerged from the water, upside down with a forlorn resentful
look on his face, ignominiously wriggling, dripping, snorting and spluttering,
its sodden hairy ears and dripping furry tail hanging down with a total
lack of any dignity, and with its four little paws pathetically clawing
the air.
As I lifted it up level with
my face, the lady (who was quite heavily built) suddenly lurched sideways
and flopped herself down on top of my back (nearly squashing the breath
out of me ) and reaching over my head .....she accidentally knocked my
yachtie cap off ..... as she snatched her dog into her hands and unhooked
him.
There was a loud cheer and
hand clapping from the crowd behind me. But I just concentrated on reaching
down again with the umbrella and hooked my soaking wet cap out of the murky
water, as the lady put her dog down next to my head. Then he shook
himself and sprayed smelly Fuengirola harbour water all over me.
I got up, and as I wiped
my face, I returned the umbrella to its owner...... and he turned out to
be the lady's husband...! They were so grateful that they invited
me for lunch on the terrace of one of the waterside restaurants there in
the harbour, and Chiquito the Yorkie, none the worse for his cold bath,
played and romped with Santiago my own dog as we ate our meal. Chiquito
was grateful enough to lick my hand..... especially when I offered him
a titbit from my plate.
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