You may remember Jessie, the brave Staffie who saved her smaller Toy Pomeranian companion from a family swimming pool? Years later, footage of her heroic act has resurfaced and gone viral on The Dodo!
Johannesburg, South Africa (13 May 2025) – Back in 2021, something truly soul-stirring took place in the backyard of a Johannesburg couple’s home. While Byron and Melissa Thanarayen were away during the day, their dog Jessie managed to pull their smaller Toy Pomeranian companion, Chucky, from the swimming pool.
The gripping pet pool rescue was captured on CCTV footage, and Good Things Guy reported all about it back then as well as how Jessie received an animal hero award from the Boksburg SPCA where she was adopted from.
Now, several years later, the video footage is still pulling at the heartstrings of viewers far and wide – globally, in fact. Less than 24 hours ago, Byron shared the video with The Dodo, the American news publication best known for sharing the best animal-related stories, and it went viral!
With over 5.8 million views (at the time of writing this), Jessie has become a world famous hero and touched animal lovers’ hearts all over again!
“To see a rescue dog go from being a rescue dog to being the rescuer is just an amazing, amazing thing,” Byron says in the clip.
“I definitely think people underestimate dogs ‘cause the unconditional love they have – it really is real. And it’s beautiful. It’s absolutely stunning to see,” Melissa adds.
And we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Well done, again, Jessie girl!
Sources: The Dodo
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