A KIND-hearted resident from Farnworth rescued a dog from a river after an elderly couple couldn’t find him.

Kieran Furlong was out walking his dog Kyla in Leverhulme Park on Sunday morning, when residents nearby asked him if he had seen an elderly couple’s black dog.

After around 20 minutes of walking through the woods, he bumped into the couple who were looking for their dog, Willow.

He said: “I wanted to make it my mission to get their dog home.

“Dogs are your best friends, and I can’t imagine losing mine.”

Kieran continued walking through the park and eventually found the dog crying and stuck in the river with its leg trapped under a brick.

He added: “He could have drowned in the river.

“His leg was in between some bricks in the water.

“It was such a shame.

“The dog wouldn’t come to me at first and he was crying and yelping. I nearly cried myself.”

After tying his dog up, he managed to get Willow out of the water, but he loved the water so much he went back in after Kieran took his dog off the lead.

Determined to return Willow, Kieran went to the couple’s address after getting it from them beforehand.

He added: “Not many people do it. It was just a nice thing to do really. It was my good deed of the year.”

The couple only had Willow for three weeks, but they quickly developed a special bond with the dog and were at a loss when they couldn’t find their dog.

Willow has now been safely returned home, and the couple are said to be “over the moon” to have their dog back.

Kieran regularly takes Kyla for walks, and he said that she’s ‘an adventurer’ and in love with the river and little waterfalls nearby.