Three-legged dog with cancer jumps into the river to save baby otter

• Gus is currently receiving cancer treatments.
• He had his hind leg amputated due to a malignant tumor.
• On Easter Sunday, Gus rescued a baby otter from the river. 

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On Easter Sunday, a three-legged dog receiving cancer treatment rescued a newborn otter from the St. Croix River in Lakeland, Minnesota.

According to WCCO, Gus, a “friendly” and “happy” Goldendoodle who had his hind leg amputated due to a malignant tumor, leaped into the freezing river to retrieve the abandoned baby otter and bring it to his owner and her granddaughters, Ella and Lucy.

“He came to shore, and he had something in his mouth, and it turned out to be a very tiny otter,” Cleo Young, Gus’s owner, shared to the outlet.

Ella told KMSP that the otter was “very cute” and that it “almost curled into a little ball” when it was taken out of the water.

Lucy said they tried to find the otter’s mom, but failed. The family then rushed to make it to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC) before it closes for the day. 

Gus’s water rescue was his first swim since he was diagnosed with cancer and had his leg amputated in February. According to KMSP, the dog is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Hospital.

Ella told the outlet:

“First time swimming with three legs, and he comes out of the water with a baby otter in his mouth! He does just great on three legs. He runs as fast as he ever did.” 

The WRC posted an update on the otter’s recuperation on Facebook on April 20, along with a video of him feeding from the bottle.

“Everyone give a shout-out to Gus, the wonderful Goldendoodle who, while swimming in the St. Croix River, came across this tiny young river otter and rescued it,” the rehabilitation center wrote.

WRC went on to say that they were worried for the first 36 hours since the otter was cool to the touch and they didn’t know if he’d aspirated water, which might cause pneumonia. Fortunately, the otter recently made a successful recovery.

The otter was “much too young” to be in the water, according to the wildlife center. 

Ella told KMSP that Gus might have known that the otter was struggling and that something was wrong.

“He definitely got a lot of treats afterward,” she added.  

Source: People