Hero Labrador called Rocky leaps into icy canyon river to rescue drowning girl, nine, as she holds onto his lead and is dragged to safety

The dog helped to pull a nine-year-old girl from North Saskatchewan River

Samara Sunshine was being swept downstream after falling into icy water



She and her sister Krymzen, 10, had fallen in while out tobogganing

Rocky and his owner, Adam Shaw, worked together to pull sisters to safety



'Two more minutes and Samara would have been gone,' girls' mother said



He's a brave hero who never turns his back on a fight, and his name is Rocky.

Not the boxer famously played by Sylvester Stallone, but this labrador-husky cross, who helped his owner drag a nine-year-old girl to safety after she fell into the fast-flowing waters of Canada's icy North Saskatchewan River.

Rocky's owner Adam Shaw told how his dog jumped into the water, allowing Samara Sunshine - who had fallen in with her 10-year-old sister while out tobogganing - to grab on to his lead as he towed her back to the snow-covered riverbank.

Scroll down for video



Hero: Rocky, a labrador-husky cross, helped to pull nine-year-old Samara to safety as she was being swept along an icy river in Canada

Danger: Samara, nine, had been tobogganing along the snowy banks of the river with her 10-year-old sister when the girls fell in

Mr Shaw, 27, who was alerted by the sisters' screams while out walking with his dog in Edmonton on Sunday, managed to haul Krymzen to safety, but Samara was swept out of his reach by the current, according to a CNN report.

He tried to throw his dog's lead to the girl for her to grab on, but she was already too far away, so Mr Shaw reattached it to Rocky and instructed his dutiful dog to jump in the water.

'He jumped in right beside her,' said Mr Shaw. 'I called him back and he swam toward the ice.'

Rescue: Mr Shaw managed to haul Krymzen, 10 (pictured), to safety, but her sister Samara was swept out of his reach

Rocky managed to tow Samara close enough to the bank for his owner to grab her arm, and his pet, and get them away from the water's edge.

The girls' relieved mother, Miranda Wagner, has said she cannot bear to think about what might have happened had Mr Shaw and Rocky not come across the scene.



She told CNN affiliate CTV: 'Doctors said two more minutes and Samara would have been gone.

'I just want to give him a big hug and tell him he's my hero. If he wasn't there I wouldn't have my girls.'



Scare: When Adam Shaw and his dog Rocky came across the scene, he saw one girl in the water as her sister tried to drag her out

'Miracle': Mr Shaw dashed to the girls' help with his pet dog Rocky after hearing their cries as he walked across a bridge spanning the river on Sunday

It is thought the ice extending from the riverbank gave way beneath one of the girls' toboggans on Sunday.

Mr Shaw, who was walking along a bridge over the river when he heard the girls' cries, said he looked down and saw one girl in the water and another trying to pull her out.

By the time he and Rocky and sprinted down to the riverbank, both girls were in the water. He dragged Krymzen back onto the bank, but Samara was already too far away.

'She said she couldn't move her arms, couldn't move her legs,' Mr Shaw explained.

As he and his dog tried to get closer to the young girl, the ice gave way beneath them. By the time they were out of the water, Samara had drifted 50 or 60 yards downriver and was struggling to keep her head above water.



But Mr Shaw refused to give up, sprinting to the girl again while his dog leaped into the water to help tow her to safety.

Fire crews arrived shortly after Samara was pulled on to the riverbank and the sisters were taken for treatment.

Hero: Rocky was treated to a gigantic rawhide bone by chiefs at the local fire station as a reward for his efforts

Mr Shaw, who said it was 'a bit of a miracle' that everything had worked out, and his dog were honoured for their efforts at the local fire station on Monday.

Fire chief Ken Block, who said the Sunshine sisters were 'very, very fortunate' that Mr Shaw and his pet came along, presented the 27-year-old with a fireman's hat, while Rocky was rewarded with a giant rawhide bone.