‘I didn’t really have time to think about it’: Man jumps into Charles River to save dog

BOSTON — Hans Nagrath was out for a run along the Charles River with his 2-year-old dog, Benny, when their day took an unexpected and dangerous turn.

Nagrath let Benny off his leash, as he says he often does, to play along the river. Usually, Benny behaves.

But things went sideways Monday when Benny spotted a flock of geese. The dog quickly gave chase and, despite Nagrath’s calls for Benny to stop, followed the geese all the way into the river and began swimming far from shore.

Nagrath watched for a few minutes, calling for Benny to come back, until the dog was so far from shore it was clear he needed help.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it,” Nagrath told Boston 25 News. “I was just thinking, if Benny were to drown, I couldn’t live with myself.”

Water temperatures in the river are still very cold right now, averaging in the low 40s, says Boston 25 Meteorologist Vicki Graf.

Nagrath says people around him urged him to reconsider.

“They said it’s freezing, you’re going to get hypothermia, it’s not a good idea.”

Nagrath estimates Benny was 60-70 feet from the shore. By the time he reached Benny, Nagrath says they were both struggling to swim.

“Once I got within 10 feet from him, all of the energy just got zapped from my body,” Nagrath said. “I couldn’t really breathe, and I realized - what did I just do?”

With no boats in sight, Nagrath said the swim back to shore was difficult. Nagrath says he doggy-paddled behind Benny, nudging him every few strokes to help keep the dog’s head above water while pushing him closer to shore where onlookers helped pull both out of the water.

Nagrath says it was a cold and miserable walk back home, where both spent time warming up.

“I don’t think I really processed it until later that I totally could have drowned,” Nagrath said.

He’s also said he’s learned an important lesson: Benny won’t be playing off leash again, at least not for a while. And both are done swimming in the Charles.

“I’m very, very luck,” Nagrath said. “I will never make that mistake again.”

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