New Zealand YouTuber praised as a hero, after saving trapped dog in a Manitoba River

Tom Hudson, who is a sailboat captain from New Zealand, started his journey at the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Alberta, with hopes to make it to Montreal before winter.

He says he couldn’t dream of what he experienced in Manitoba, after a cross-country canoe trip, turned into a rescue mission in a river near the Pas.

“I heard a very faint bark, and I already passed the dog, and it wasn’t until she was slightly behind me, that I took notice of it and went to investigate,” explained Hudson.

The dog, which Hudson would later find out is a 14-year-old Great Pyrenees named Ivy, was trapped under a log, submerged in water and heavy mud, with no way out, as she couldn’t use her back legs due to exhaustion, so naturally, Hudson decided to step in.

“I had to leave my canoe 10-15 meters away and I was up knee deep in mud to get to her and then to try and lift her back towards the canoe back through the mud was a bit of a challenge.”

Once on the canoe, Hudson and Ivy made their way roughly 300 meters down the river after seeing paw prints leading in that direction, where she was finally reunited with the owner who had been searching for her for days.

Hudson was then invited over for dinner and says while Ivy who is now happy and healthy, she will continue to be part of the journey.

“I don’t know about canoes, but I know it’s bad luck to have a sailboat unnamed, and somebody suggested what about Ivy for obvious reasons,” said Hudson.

Hudson says he is pleasantly surprised about how much Canadians have become part of this journey and hopes his experience, which is being documented on his YouTube and Instagram accounts, can inspire people to go out and live life the way they want to.