Family German Shepherd Tried to Save Baby from Drowning

A 9 month old boy in Irvine, California, tragically drowned this past Saturday, but not without the efforts of his loyal German Shepherd, who tried to save the child.

When the boy's mother found him at 5:30pm on Saturday, June 6th, she immediately phoned the police before beginning CPR, reported the Orange County Register. Jace Carlton, found submerged in the family's unfenced pool, was rushed to the hospital but sadly pronounced dead not long after arrival.

Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi believed that the family's German Shepherd had unsuccessfully tried to rescue the boy. When emergency responders had arrived on scene, the dog was wet, he reported.

Tragically, this is a trend that is all too familiar to Orange County's emergency services. So far this year, 14 out of 25 calls for potential drownings have proved fatal.

"There need to be multiple barriers (around pools)," Concialdi said, to prevent future disaster. How the incident originally occurred is unclear.