'He's a hero': Dog rescued by maintenance man in close elevator call
A south Edmonton dog is OK thanks to her favourite maintenance worker noticing she had been stranded on the outside of an elevator going up.
The rescue, captured on the building's security footage, is nail biting.
"I don’t know if I want to watch it," Charley's owner Angela Welz told CTV News Edmonton.
On Tuesday, she and Charley were returning to their apartment from one of their outings when the pair spotted the building's maintenance worker, Bob Foster. Welz waves and continues into the elevator while Charley lingers in the lobby.
"I thought she was in the elevator with me, but she pulled out and saw the maintenance man and the elevator started to close," Welz recalled.
Foster walks out as the door starts to close. Upon realizing it has fully shut, he hits a button on the elevator's command pad, but its starts to rise anyway -- pulling Charley by her leash with it.
"I could feel the leash tugging on the door, and the door wouldn’t stop closing. I was pressing the buttons frantically, trying to stop it. I was just panicking," Welz said.
"I could see the leash moving up and I screamed at that point. I didn’t know what to do, so I was pressing buttons and all I was worried about was what I could going to find when the door opened on the other side."
Lucky for her and Charley both, Foster was on the other side. He first seems to try to find a way to unhook Charley from the leash, but with the speed the elevator begins to move, abandons the tactic and holds on.
He's lifted off his feet briefly before the leash appears to break. He keeps hold of Charley as the fall to the ground, with him bearing the brunt of the fall.
Angela Welz, Charley, Bob Foster pose for a photo. Foster saved Charley's life on Oct. 26, 2021, when she got stuck on the outside of an elevator going up. Foster held on to Charley and her leash until it snapped.
“She seems to be a little bit scared, but I think that’s normal," Welz said of Charley the next day.
"It could have been so much worse."
Charley was Welz' daughter's dog, before she passed away in 2016 from fentanyl poisoning.
“Our family is very happy that she’s OK and thanks to Bob and his service and -- he’s a hero," Welz said.
"I'm very, very indebted to him."
While the maintenance worker declined to interview, he has been told how much his heroism is appreciated.
He was gifted a mug that reads, "You're my hero. Love, Charley."
Angela Welz and Charley gave Bob Foster a mug for his heroic and quick thinking. It reads: "You're my hero. Love, Charley."
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Dave Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.