When Pam Taylor of Gaithersburg trained her 4-year-old St. Bernard named Atlas to pull her around in the water, she never imagined the results would be so heroic
Atlas proved that his life-saving instincts were in top form when he pulled 13-year-old Sindy Castellon of Bladensburg, a daughter of visiting friends, to safety after she fell into a lake from her capsized raft.
"I am so proud of him," said Taylor, a dog groomer at the Potomac Animal Hospital. "I had always wondered what he would do in that kind of situation, now I know."
Each year, Taylor and her husband Scott took Atlas and Jasper, a 13-year-old lab, on a camping trip to South Holston Lake in Bristol, Tenn. Both dogs enjoyed swimming. Concerned that Alas, then 185 pounds, would tire in the water, Taylor and her husband outfitted Atlas in the same way that they outfitted themselves: with a life vest.
In the mornings she worked with Atlas in the lake, teaching him to swim with the cumbersome vest and to pull her along as she held its straps. (Atlas has since lost 10 pounds from the swimming routine.) She noticed that he showed considerable concern if she pretended she was in trouble. "He wanted to take me back to the shore, so I worked with that," she said. But at other times, when Scott Taylor tried to attract his attention, Atlas ignored him. "It made me wonder whether he would do this for someone else."
IT WAS DURING a weekend visit from the Castellon family and friend John Rodrigues that Atlas proved he could determine who was serious and who was not, and become a hero in the process.
The visit was a first for the family’s children, and earlier in the day, Pam had warned them about the importance of life vests and, although Sindy said she could swim, Taylor insisted all the children wear one.
Sindy thought she could swim, and didn’t want to wear a life jacket. "I didn’t because was sure I’d be fine, plus it pushed up on my neck," said Sindy.
It took only a minute for young Sindy to enter the water without her life jacket. It took less than a minute for her to capsize. Certain that the raft would carry her along safely, Sindy kicked her way out to Pam and Atlas. They watched in disbelief as suddenly she was in the water and slapping her hands in panic.
"I think Atlas understood that she was in danger," said Taylor, who called out to Atlas to go get her. They were too far from Sindy for Taylor to help, but close enough for Atlas to try to swim to her before she went under. Taylor continued to yell at Atlas, encouraging him to go to her. She worried that he would not because he never left Taylor’s side while in the water.
SINDY SLIPPED OFF the raft because she had been kicking vigorously to make it move faster. The kicking caused her to become unseated as the unstable raft tipped and lurched from the effort. In the water with her arms flailing, her movements caused the raft to float farther away.
"I knew I was going to die right there," said Sindy. "I tried to slap my hands, but I kept sinking and swallowing water in big gulps. I thought: ‘I am not going to get out of this.’"
Atlas then made the decision that made him a hero. Seeing the girl yelling and flapping her arms he took off, swimming straight toward her. "I couldn’t believe it," said Taylor.
She watched her Atlas swim toward the drowning girl, a behemoth in a yellow vest parting the waters with a biblical effort. Taylor yelled for Sindy to grab the straps. Instead, Sindy who was already panicked in the melee, tried to climb on the dog’s back. Fearing for both of them, Taylor screamed for Atlas to take her in. "I kept yelling: Atlas go back, go back," she said. And, Atlas went right back — to shore — dragging Sindy behind him until she touched sand. "I was amazed he took her there and not to me," said Taylor.
When asked if thoughts of her family or of her friends went through Sindy’s mind as she struggled in the water, she answered: "No, just thoughts of me."
Now Sindy will continue to have thoughts of Atlas, and for his heroism, the St. Bernard will continue to receive goodies, praise and huge hugs from Sindy.