Florida deputy saves K-9 partner as dog attempts to jump 75 feet off causeway bridge

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida deputy reacted with quick reflexes and upper body strength as she prevented her K-9 partner from jumping off a causeway into a waterway 75 feet below, authorities said.

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According to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Lauren Donaldson was returning to her vehicle on March 5 after making an arrest on the 528 Causeway, which connects Cocoa with Merritt Island over the Indian River near Cape Canaveral.

That is when her K-9, a Belgian Malinois dog named “Zeppelin,” decided to jump over the bridge’s guard rail, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post on March 21. In video shared by the sheriff’s office, Donaldson was able to pull the animal back to the highway.

“Thankfully, Lauren responded quickly to ‘Zeppelin’s’ actions by tightly holding on to his lead, immediately bracing her feet against the railing, and then somehow, reaching over the guard rail and pulling ‘Zeppelin’ back onto the bridge!” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post on March 21.

It appears that Zeppelin realized its mistake, trying to grab the top of the concrete wall of the bridge before tumbling over the side, the Miami Herald reported.

Donaldson can be heard saying “No” as she holds on tightly to the leash and pulls the K-9 to safety, according to the newspaper. Zeppelin then trots away, wagging his tail, CBS News reported.

The frightening incident took just six seconds.

Neither Donaldson, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, nor the dog were injured, according to the Herald.

“Lauren’s rescue of her beloved partner is even more amazing when you consider that ‘Zeppelin,’ a Belgian Malinois weighs approximately 75 pounds and Lauren weighs 122 pounds when she is soaking wet and holding a bowling ball,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey wrote in the social media post. “Yet somehow she managed to not panic and (pulled) ‘Zeppelin’ back to safety!!

“Without Lauren’s fast action there is no question that ‘Zeppelin’ would have fallen approximately 75 feet into the Indian River and most likely to his death,” Ivey said. I’m still mad at ‘Zeppelin’ for giving us all a huge scare, but am so grateful that he is OK and unharmed!!”

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