Stories of Saudi Arabians risking their lives to save others have been plentiful, from student Ahmed Almohaimeed who risked his life last year by jumping into Melbourne’s Yarra River in Australia to save a drowning man in his 50s, to firefighter Mishal Al Enezi who took off his oxygen mask during a fire and gave it to a child during a rescue mission in the Ha'il governorate (he collapsed shortly after the rescue and was immediately hospitalized).
This month, Hani Al-Nafiei from a village south of Taif is the country’s latest local hero. According to Al-Arabiya English, Al-Nafiei descended down a well after midnight in order to rescue a dog he heard barking from a distance.
“Long after dark, I was sitting in the courtyard of our house […] when I heard interrupted and muffled cries that sounded like a distress call […] I proceeded into taking my flashlight and my brother rushed into the night with me to locate the source of the sound, as we advanced the muffled voice became clearer and clearer and that until we reached the edges of a water well,” he explained.
“Upon using the flashlight, we came to find a dog, looking at us from the bottom and its eyes had a look of both fear and sheer misery. I waved my hand at the creature and it moved its head as if begging me to save it and so I felt that it was not possible for me to leave it there,” he continued.
Al-Nafiei then got a rope, went down the hole, and tied it around the dog who remained calm and obedient throughout the entire process.
“After tying the dog and getting it out of the well, the creature distanced itself from us a bit and emitted a barking noise that resembled the howling of a wolf. It was its own way of thanking me and showing me its gratitude and so I petted the dog and spoke some gentle words to it.”
Al-Nafiei added that the dog followed him around, stayed for a whole day sitting next to his house but then eventually left. The young man filmed the entire rescue, which can be viewed online at the news site.
