A champion rope jumper from Indiana used his double-Dutch ropes to save a drowning man from a frozen pond after he fell in trying to save his dog.
David Fisher of Westfield told WRTV Indianapolis that his neighbor’s pooch was chasing geese on the semi-frozen pond on Dec. 14 when the dog toppled into the water.
His 18-year-old owner went after his poor pup, but he fell in, too.
Fisher’s son, Felix, heard the man yelling and quickly raced to get his dad, according to WishTV.com.
“The boy went in to try and save his dog, and then he was treading water in the middle of the ice pond, screaming, ‘I’m gonna’ drown, I’m gonna’ drown!” Fisher said.
That’s when Fisher — who appropriately writes books about a jump-roping superhero — sprang into action to save them.
“I just instinctively went right for my bag of jump ropes and pulled out the double-Dutch ropes,” Fisher told the outlet.
“I headed out on the ice pond, and as I started to go out there, I could hear the ice cracking underneath my feet,” he continued. “When I finally did arrive, I slung the rope to him, and he grabbed one handle, and bit by bit, we pulled him out of the ice pond.”
Fisher and his son saved the young man and the cold canine, then brought them into their home to warm up.
Now, Fisher’s hometown is calling him a hero.
“He understands what it means to put the needs of others ahead of your own,” Westfield Mayor Scott Willis said ahead of a City Council ceremony that honored Fisher with the Lifesaving Citizen Award.
“Stories like these don’t always have a positive outcome,” city Fire Chief Rob Gaylor added. “My department and I are extremely grateful to David and Felix for their quick-thinking and selfless actions that day.”
But Fisher — who is a world record-holder for jump-roping while sitting down — says he just did what he hopes anyone else would do.
“We’re all part of a community,” Fisher said. “I would hope that when cries go out, everybody could do whatever it is that they might be able to do to help the situation.”