Maryland

Dogs Bark Down Help for Owner Trapped in Mud in Montgomery County

The man's wife had warned him not to go for a walk until she got back home - but he didn't want to wait

A local man found out the hard way why people often say the wife is always right.

Lamar Neville, 87, thought it would be nice to take his dogs, Blue and Jacks, for a walk by the C&O Canal in Bethesda Monday night.

His wife, Helen, was going to see a movie.

She told her husband: "Wait 'til we come back because if you fall down, nobody will know where you are."

But Neville didn't wait.

Sure enough, he found himself in a sticky situation.

Neville got stuck in the mud at the edge of the Potomac River near the Little Falls Dam.

"I tell you, that mud was literally up to my knees and I couldn’t pull my legs out," Neville said.

The more he moved, the more he sank.

"I was trying to dig it out with my hands, but it just oozed back over and made a mess," he said.

Neville stood there for an hour yelling for help to no avail.

Then, like a scene from "Lassie," Blue and Jacks went to the C&O Towpath nearby and barked for help. They eventually caught the attention of two passing cyclists.

The cyclists helped Neville get out of the quicksand-like mud and alerted first responders.

Neville said he's grateful he brought his best friends with him on that walk.

"If they hadn’t been with me, I don’t know if I’d have gotten anybody," he said.

Montgomery County Fire Department Capt. Eddie Russell said he's also been mired in mud.

"You don’t realize that when your shoe or feet become stuck, the more you move, the worse you’re making it," he said.

Russell said firefighters use a gadget that allows them to break the suction of the mud and create an air pocket.

It's rare they have to use the device, but they like to have it on hand just in case.

"I mean, this truly is a good story from start to finish," Russell said.

Contact Us