-- Man leaves his own birthday party and jumps into the river to save dog

 A man leaves his own birthday party and jumps into the river to save a dog.

When Gabe Castellanos, 38, woke up on the morning of his birthday, he had no idea that by the end of the day he would be heralded as a hero in the media, but that is exactly what happened.

Gabe was enjoying his birthday party outdoors near New York’s East River when a commotion from the water caught his attention. He looked toward the noise and noticed that a black and white dog was struggling to stay afloat in the water. Castellanos’ birthday party guests saw the dog’s plight and suggested that Castellanos should jump into the river and save the dog.

Man leaves his own birthday party to save dog.

Within moments, the man jumped into the river and swam toward the confused dog. But when Gabe tried to grab the poor creature, it bit him. But the man understood that the dog’s behavior was because he was extremely scared, so he ignored the pain and continued the rescue until the helpless dog was safely taken to shore.

Man jumps into river to save dog.

Onlookers cheered the two and a helicopter is seen hovering above monitoring the dog’s rescue. Once on the ground, the dog was eventually reunited with its owner.

Hero

Apparently, the dog, whose name is Harper, escaped from his walker. No one knows how he ended up in the river.