Pets

How A Turtle Saved A Puppy

Safety Turtles Warn When Kids Fall Into Pools
Dog Owners Are Adapting Them For Canine Pals

Joan Murry
POMPANO BEACH (CBS4), Jan. 1, 2008 — Pets are living longer thanks to better medical care and better nutrition, and that means many homes have geriatric pets who, like humans, suffer the infirmities of old age. Now a new device might help your pooch from not drowning.

Barbara and Mike Halprin care for a 17-year-old Pomeranian at their Pompano Beach home. When she was younger, Sheba had no problem navigating the water surrounding their home, but those days are gone forever.

"She's been deteriorating going through a number off health problems like any person," Sheila Halprin told CBS4's Joan Murray.

"Several times she's fallen in by misstep, into the water."

It happens to kids as well as dogs, which is why companies have developed something they call a 'Safety Turtle'—a device a child can wear which sets off an alarm if it comes into contact with water.

Halprin's daughter purchased a pair for her parents as a Christmas present. The Turtles can be adapted for pet use, and one went on Sheba, while the other went on the family's 6 month old puppy. A Velcro strap attaches the Safety Turtle to your pet's collar.

Suddenly, they were shocked by the sound of the alarm. 

"All of a sudden the alarm goes off, and we thought it must be a false alarm," said Mike Halprin.

It was not. They dashed out to the pool, and found Sheba trapped in the pool's filter drain. Somehow, the little dog had slipped out the dog door and fallen into the pool.

The daughter jumped in, grabbed the puppy, and the old dog and tragedy was averted.

"The tragedy of her drowning on Christmas would have ruined Christmas," Halprin said

The couple believes the Turtles averted a tragedy, and they're sold on the devices for pets as well as for kids, or anyone who might be at risk around water.

Back to the Testimonials »