John Cassabria, a delivery driver for Amazon, always grew up with tons of animals around. So, when he heard a drowning dog whimper for help, he didn’t hesitate to jump into a stranger’s pool and save his newfound furry friend!
Saving In The Last Second
Amazon delivery driver John Cassabria’s childhood surrounded by pets had a profound effect on him. Now, when he’s not driving, he takes care of his four dogs, four cats, and pet snake! So, it’s no surprise that when he heard a strange animal sound while dropping off packages, his ears perked up. “The noise I heard was still so indescribable,” Cassabria said. “It was something like a siren raid mixed with howling — like how the wind howls through the tree branches.” Thankfully, he did not drive away. Instead, the deliveryman went straight to the noise. That’s when he spotted a dog drowning in a poll! Luka, an elderly 14-year-old husky, seemed to be losing the fight in the water…
“As soon as I knew what it was, the sound was no longer interesting, it was alarming,” Cassabria recalled. “My heart sank. I wasn’t sure until I physically got to him that he was still with us, and all I could think about was getting him out of the pool and making sure that he was safe.”
In a moment of pure heroism, keys and money still in his pants, Cassabria jumped right into the pool! Incredibly, the man managed to save the pup, supporting him while he lifted him out of the pool! “After he was out of the pool, he was very shook up, very scared,” the Amazon driver recalled. “He didn’t want me to leave his side. Every time I would go to get up, he would hit me with his paw or nudge me — so I stayed with him the entire time.”
Shocking Events
Once making sure the dog could breathe, Cassabria called animal control. The savior waited with the dog for an hour and a half before officers could finally arrive. Thankfully, they managed to track down the owners: the Caldwell couple, who were out for a meal. As you might imagine, Julie Caldwell could not believe the news! “I was enjoying my first cocktail at The Cape when my husband’s phone rang,” she said. “I dropped the phone. I just started crying and I dropped the phone,” Caldwell recalled. “I couldn’t even talk.” Strangely, Luka had never tried a stunt like that before, and the gate had been closed! “This came as a complete shock to us,” Julie said.
Caldwell was so thankful to Cassabria that she praised him over the phone and then even wrote an email to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos! She told Bezos how outstanding his employee was. “I can’t thank him enough,” Caldwell wrote in the email shared by an Amazon spokesperson. “Words cannot express how grateful we are to him. In fact, I have tears in my eyes as I write this email. Luka is doing fine thanks to your wonderful and courageous employee.”
Still, Cassabria doesn’t identify himself as a hero. “I know a lot of people have been using the word ‘heroic’ and ‘hero,’ and maybe it’s me being modest, but a month later, I still don’t see myself as a hero,” the delivery driver said. “I see myself as a person who [did] what any dog owner would have done.”