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ISP trooper gets letter of appreciation for rescuing family dog

PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – A Indiana State Police trooper received a letter of appreciation from a family that he recently helped to save their family dog.

On Jan. 8, Trooper Ted Robertson was off-duty when he got a call to help rescue a black Labrador who was stranded on the east bank of the Wabash River, around 7 p.m. The dog was just east of Cayuga’s Duke Energy Power Plant.

Trooper Robertson got in his personal boat and traveled about a mile in the dark to find the dog. After the trooper called for the dog named Diesel he appeared at the boat and was returned to shore where his family was waiting.

Diesel belonged to the Knauer family who said that the dog got out of the home on Dec. 26, when he was frightened by a thunderstorm. The family tried to find the dog and when they couldn’t they put up flyers and reached out on social media.

On Jan. 8, workers from Duke Energy heard a dog barking in the area. A worker spoke with his wife and the wife notified the family. Because of the high water and falling temperatures the family was working hard to rescue the dog.

After reaching out to law enforcement without help, the wife of the Duke Energy worker called Trooper Robertson directly. He responded without hesitation.

The family wanted to thank the trooper, so they wrote him a personal letter of appreciation to the command staff at the Putnamville State Police Post.

“Trooper Robertson’s actions and willingness to use his personal resources to secure the rescue of “Diesel” goes beyond the norm and exemplifies the meaning of a public servant”, commented Lieutenant Dan Jones, Commander of the Putnamville District.