Zion to the Rescue
By Josh Hagy

For Chelsea Bennett it started out as just another ordinary day, however, for Deana Rambo and her eight-year-old Ryan, it was a scary Mother’s Day they aren’t likely to forget. On that day, Ryan was kayaking with a family friend when their kayak was upset in the Roaring Fork River in Colorado. While his friend, Kevin Doran, was trapped briefly below the surface and managed to escape, Ryan was tossed out of the boat. Ryan was wearing his life jacket, though he struggled not to slip out of it as the current swept him down the river.

Garfield County sheriff’s deputies estimate Ryan floated for 20 minutes nearly a half-mile downstream before being pulled from the river by a surprising rescuer - Zion, a yellow Labrador Retriever.







Chelsea, a 13-year-old Glenwood Springs Middle School student, often walks along a trail by the river, which is near her home, and throws sticks in the water for Zion to fetch.This time, Zion fetched much more than a stick and suddenly, Chelsea’s ordinary day with Zion became much more serious.

The two-year-old yellow Lab was already in the water looking for a stick Chelsea had thrown when Ryan came floating by. Zion swam over to Ryan, who grabbed a hold of Zion’s collar and neck. “Zion probably just wanted to say hi when he swam over,” said Chelsea. “But maybe he knew something was wrong.” Chelsea, who saw what was happening and had heard Ryan’s calls for help, called to Zion, who pulled the young boy to shore. Thinking quickly, Chelsea helped him take his life jacket off, wrapped Ryan in her shawl and rubbed warm sand on him. Ryan had been struggling to stay afloat in water that was a chilling 53 degrees.

"He just seemed so cold,” said Chelsea. “He had goose bumps and everything. I knew the sand was hot because it always seems hot when you walk in it after you’ve been in the river. It just seemed like a good idea.”

Unbeknownst to Chelsea and Ryan, Kevin had escaped from the river and had made it to the road, where he flagged down a car and was able to call for help. Ryan’s mother, Deana, who was at the takeout point, saw the raft float by upside down and then heard police reports that they were looking for a “little boy in the river.” Chelsea, Ryan and Zion were walking upstream along the river looking for Kevin when they finally met up with police officers. A frantic hour after learning that Ryan was missing Deana was happily reunited with her son, thanks to Zion and Chelsea.

At first, Deana didn’t even realize who it was that pulled Ryan from the river. “I had no idea,” she said. “They gave me a card that had the name of the girl and the dog that got him out of the river and that was the first I had heard about it. I didn’t even get to talk to Chelsea about it until a couple days later.” It was a fortunate coincidence that Chelsea and Zion were playing by the river. “It was a very rare coincidence that they were there,” said Deana. “They were in the right place at the right time. And Chelsea was definitely doing some good thinking for a 13-year-old girl.”

Oddly enough, the Rambos once had a yellow Lab that looked similar to Zion. “When we moved from New Orleans to Colorado, we had a yellow Lab named Zoe,” said Deana. “We couldn’t have a pet where we are living, so a family kind of adopted him,” Ryan said. “Zion even kind of looked like Zoe!”

Zion actually belongs to Brooke, Chelsea’s 17-year-old sister, who saved her money up to buy him two years ago in Carbondale, Colorado. They rewarded their heroic Lab with a bag of dog biscuits and a new chew toy just two days later.

The Rambos are originally from New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina hit they sold their house and moved to Glenwood Springs so that Ryan and his 11-year-old sister Tyler, could go to school. “We love it up here,” said Deana.







The Bennett and Rambo families met at the Bennett’s house a few days after Ryan’s ordeal and took Zion for a walk along the river, where Ryan played fetch with Zion, who happily chased the new chew toy into the river. “He got all those treats from Ryan and he really enjoyed those,” said Chelsea. The Bennetts and Rambos have found a new friendship after the ordeal and now see each other around town frequently. “It’s a small town,” said Deana. “We see each other all the time now.” “We’ve been around each other a lot,” added Chelsea. “We like spending time together.”

Ryan has since been back on the river. “We actually went down the river again,” said Deana. “This time we were in a lot bigger raft and it was a lot higher. It was much safer.” Everyone is so proud of Zion and Chelsea and as far as Zion our heroic Lab of the Month, Chelsea says, “I’m just glad he’s part of the family, we love him a lot and we play with him all the time.”



















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