Dog Jumps Into Kill Van Kull Under Bayonne Bridge, Rescued

BAYONNE, NJ — This past Saturday, Aug. 10 someone's dog jumped into the fast-moving Kill Van Kull waterway under the Bayonne Bridge. However, the pooch was saved from what could have been a tragic ending after a Bayonne firefighter jumped into the water and swam to rescue the dog.

Just before 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, Bayonne police were tracking a loose female dog, "Cher," on John F. Kennedy Boulevard towards Dennis Collins Park. That park is located at the southernmost tip of Bayonne, right under the Bayonne Bridge that connects with Staten Island.

As police tried to corral the dog, the animal instead jumped into the Kill Van Kull under the bridge.

"The currents under the Bayonne Bridge are very swift and dangerous because you have three bodies of water coming together there, the Kill Van Kull, the Arthur Kill and Newark Bay," said a Bayonne OEM worker, who helped out with the rescue Saturday, but didn't want his name used. "It's very swift and dangerous, and it's treacherous for even a serious swimmer to navigate, much less a dog."

The dog swam under the bridge from the west side to the east side, he said. At some point the dog came back out on the rocks — only to jump back in again when firefighters got near it.

This time the animal was quickly carried 30 yards offshore out into the middle of the channel. That's when an unnamed Bayonne firefighter jumped in the water off the Marine 1 boat to save her. The firefighter was wearing a life jacket.

The firefighter swam with the dog back to Marine 1 and both the man and dog were pulled to safety aboard the boat.

Bayonne police and Port Authority police were also on scene and helped out.

The dog’s owner met the firefighters at Robbins Reef, where a happy reunion with Cher took place.