Kalavoor (Alappuzha): Most people keep away from street dogs while some are ever ready to hurl stones at these animals. However, such a stray happened to save the life of a 48-year-old biker who was lying face down in the water after a freak accident early on Thursday.

John, an employee of the Groundwater Department, was returning from Alappuzha to his house in Vechoor in Vaikom during the early hours when he met with the accident. As his bike came into contact with a metal wire lying on the roadside he lost control over it and fell into a pond adjacent to the road. Meanwhile, the vehicle got tangled in the wire.

Fortunately, the incessant barks of a street dog alerted passersby, leading to the man’s rescue. T Aneesh, a local resident who had set out on his morning walk, sensed something amiss on seeing the dog barking non-stop near the pond. He checked the pond under the torchlight of his mobile phone and saw a man lying face down in the water.

Aneesh and his neighbour M Syam Kumar, who also had reached the spot soon, took an unconscious John out of the pond and shifted him to a private hospital nearby.

The accident location is near the RO water plant at Thekke Kavala, Kavungal.

John, who suffered severe injuries to his head and body, was later shifted to Medical College Hospital, Kottayam.

The dog is reportedly called ‘Kuttan’ by the residents of Thekke Kavala.