BOSTON (WHDH) - A man made a daring rescue when he jumped into the Charles River to save his two-year-old dog after the animal ran into the freezing water on Monday.
Hans Nagrath said he was out for a run on his usual route when his goldendoodle Benny took off.
“Once we got to the section, you can take him off leash where he can run around in the grass, I did that, and all of the sudden he just beelined to some geese,” Nagrath said.
Nagrath called for him, but Benny kept chasing the birds right into the water.
“The only thing he’s looking at is the geese, that’s the only thing he is fixated on,” Nagrath said. “And I realized at this point I can barely see him, the only thing I could see is just a little poof of his head. The only thing I was thinking was my wife will kill me if anything happens to Benny and I can’t lose him on my watch.”
Nagrath then immediately decided to dive in after his dog into the cold and choppy river water. He said he got tired quickly, but pressed on to save his dog.
“I was maybe five feet, maybe 10 feet from Benny and I had no energy left. The waves were kind of going over me, I’m swallowing Charles River water which can’t be good, but at that point the only thing that I was thinking of was I need to get to him,” he said.
Nagrath eventually reached Benny, and started pushing him back to shore. When they got back to the dock, he said bystanders jumped in to help. Nagrath said the two-year-old pup still had plenty of pep after the unexpected excursion.
“This dog never runs out of energy, never tires,” he said. “He’s like my best friend. I’d do it 100 times over.”
Nagrath said he won’t be taking Benny off his leash in the area ever again. Both he and his pet are doing well.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)