Nurse helps rescue two stray Rottweilers on hospital campus that darted into traffic and then tried to catch a duck in campus pond

While on her lunch break, Abby Boer spotted two dogs running loose in heavy traffic on nearby East Colfax Avenue.

After watching the dogs dodge vehicles for a couple of minutes, Boer tracked the pair headed to a pond on the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital campus.

As an acute care nurse on the hospital’s 11th floor, Boer has a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding campus.

Worried that the dogs might venture into dangerous traffic again, she decided to race down to help them.

“The two dogs appeared to be young, fully-grown Rottweilers: one male and one female,” Boer said.

“I assumed their owners were nearby, but after 15 minutes of watching them run alone near traffic, I knew something was off.”

Boer called UCHealth security as she was heading down to help the dogs. She met a security officer outside. They found both dogs swimming in the campus pond, desperately trying to catch a duck.

“They looked starved,” Boer said. “You could see their bones, and the female had sores on her ears. They acted friendly, but it was heartbreaking.”

The security officer called Aurora Animal Control to inform them of the situation. Boer and the officer stayed near the swimming dogs while they waited for help to arrive.

The male dog was especially obsessed with catching a duck and kept swimming for nearly an hour.

“It was hard to watch him swim after the duck for so long, knowing he would never catch it,” Boer said.

“The security officer and I jokingly played ‘rock-paper-scissors’ to decide which of us would jump in the water to save the dog if he ran out of energy before animal control arrived.”

The female dog was more cautious. She would slowly approach Boer, then dart away if Boer got too close or moved too fast.

“She looked so sweet and was acting like she wanted help but didn’t know how to engage or want to be too far away from her companion,” said Boer.

Animal control officers arrived about 40 minutes later and safely corralled both dogs. They shared that they had received a call earlier about this pair being spotted in a neighboring chicken coop looking for food.

“The dogs were so friendly,” Boer said. “Their tails were wagging as they were helped out of the water. They deserve a good, caring home.”

Because of Boer’s willingness to get involved, the dogs now have a chance to receive proper care.

Kacey Whittenburg — a clinical educator of nursing — submitted a ‘Celebrating You’ nomination to honor Boer for her quick thinking and compassionate care.

“While this award often highlights patient stories, I wanted to recognize Abby for being an upstander. She saw something amiss and acted immediately. Many of our staff are animal lovers, and Abby’s compassion extended beyond our walls, showing that her commitment to care doesn’t stop when she leaves the patient floor.”