June 1 will be remembered by some as the last day of school. For
two Bradford teens, it will be remembered as a day they proved the
adage “man’s best friend” can be a reciprocal sentiment.
Jodi Irons and Kyle Eschbaugh were walking from Floyd C. Fretz
Middle School during a rainstorm when they saw a dog in distress by
the Tunungwant Creek near Elm Street.
“We were not going to just leave it there,” 13-year-old Jodi
said, adding they were walking along the railroad tracks when they
saw the injured dog. When Kyle approached, the dog – a white and
gray husky mix – growled then, “noticed we were going to help him,”
Jodi said.
“I went over and started petting it and picked it up,” Kyle,
also 13, said.
When the teens approached, they saw one of the dog’s paws
“hanging by a piece of skin … saw the bones and all that stuff,”
Jodi said.
And since it was raining heavily, the cell service in the area
was a little sketchy. Kyle carried the 70-pound dog to a safer area
where he and Jodi waited until help arrived.
The two were lauded for their efforts Tuesday morning by
Bradford City Police Chief Roger Sager and Bradford Exchange Club
president Stoney Greenberg, along with officials with the McKean
County SPCA.
“I just wanted to get it out of the rain and something to eat,”
Kyle said. “It looked like it was in really bad shape.”
Kyle said he wanted to carry the dog to J&K Pets on Main
Street, but the dog started whining and the paw started to rip
more.
“The first 100 feet was pretty easy going,” he said. “Then my
arms started to give out.”
After the two moved the dog, they wouldn’t leave the injured
canine’s side.
They called Jodi’s babysitter, Nancy Moreth at the New Broaster,
and she told them to call the SPCA.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Jodi said. “I didn’t want to leave
it there. We had to do something.”
The dog was taken to a veterinarian, then euthanized because his
front legs were too severely injured.
“I felt really bad,” Jodi said.
But ever since people started hearing about their efforts, the
teens have been praised for their humanitarian efforts.
Sager presented a letter from he and Lt. Linda Close to Jodi;
Kyle was unable to be at the presentation at the SPCA.
“Kyle and Jodi’s selfless display of kindness in this matter is
an encouraging and refreshing reminder of the positive effects
young people can have on our community,” Sager and Close said in
the letter.
Those effects seem to be long-reaching – to police, SPCA and
civic officials in the area.
“There they sat in their summer clothes. It’s pouring. They’re
shivering,” said Close, one of the officers who responded to the
scene. After SPCA officials picked up the dog, Kyle and Jodi also
declined a ride home.
“It’s just so nice,” Close said of the two’s gestures toward the
injured dog. “In our job, all we ever see is the worse. This is so
refreshing.”
Ed Rodgers, assistant manager at the McKean County SPCA, and
Tony Danias, the humane officer, agreed.
“That was great. It was awesome for them to do what they did.
Went through the creek in the pouring rain,” Rodgers said.
“It’s nice when we can save,” Danias said. “We’ve got to stop
the suffering. We heal when we can.”
What exactly happened to the dog is still a mystery. Danias
theorized that it could have been caught in a trap. Kyle thought
maybe it was hit by a train.
“It looked like he was dying right there,” Jodi said.
Kyle and Jodi, who will both be in the eighth grade next school
year, are taking their praise in stride.
“Maybe I’m getting too much attention, though,” Kyle said. “I
just saved it.”
It seems as though others disagree.
“We want to recognize their efforts … it was a nice thing they
did,” Greenberg said, adding the two will be honored at an Exchange
Club dinner at a later date.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these wonderful and caring kids,”
Close said. “Their compassion and patience … their friends and
family should be extremely proud.”
The two will also be recognized during a Bradford City Council
meeting on June 27.
Kyle is a son of Rick and Vikky Eschbaugh; Jodi is a daughter of
Michael and Harriet Irons.
