(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-12 17:09

A man who fell into water from his boat with his dog asked rescuers to save his dog first, media reported Wednesday.

Randy Earl's small boat capsized while he was fishing with his dog Lacy Monday on Mason Lake near their Monongalia County home in northern West Virginia. He clung to the boat's hull in the water with 10℃ (50 degrees), until a state trooper arrived.

"He asked the state trooper to take the dog first," said Jan Thorn, another fisherman who watched from shore, "It was very touching."

Earl, 53, said Lacy means a lot to him and his wife since they lost both of their children in a car accident 15 years ago.

"That dog is like a child to us," said Earl.

Earl and Lacy were rescued after Trooper J.D. McCoy used an old kayak to paddle out to them. Earl was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown as a precaution but was released that evening.