I watched this unfold yesterday on FoxNews. It was an incredible rescue by a 50 year old fireman named Joe St. Georges. The stray dog had been in the river for well over an hour with no way to escape due to the steep concrete banks.

Before the story ended, the criticism came rolling in to FoxNews. One man went so far as to say they should have just shot the dog and been done with it. Others said it was a waste of money.

Should this rescue have happened? My response is yes. Every community has rules and guidelines on how to deal with lost and homeless animals. Leaving a dog in peril to it's own resources is not one of them, neither is simply shooting it.

The same values that push us to assist in Haiti come in to play here. Don't get me wrong, the life of a dog doesn't even come close to that of a human. But as a society we aren't wired to turn our back on people or animals in desperate situations.

I applaud the rescue team, the supervisors who approved it and the community cheering them on. Having worked in the field of animal welfare (not to be confused with animal rights) for 10 years, I especially applaud the rescuer Joe St. Georges.