Fife family reunited with Good Samaritan who rescued injured dog at Ravenscraig Park

Ralph, a two-year-old cockapoo, accidently threw itself over a wall at a viewpoint just off the trail along the coastal path at the popular park, breaking his leg and knocking out two of his teeth.

His owner, Sylvia Carstairs, had issued a plea on social media, and in the Fife Free Press, to help find the man who guided her down to her stricken pet and back to the car park as it was her first time visiting the park and she was unfamiliar with its pathways.

Sylvia wanted to say thank you – and was delighted when the hero of the hour came forward after reading about himself in the newspaper.

Tom Reid, a retired draughtsman from Kirkcaldy, came to the family’s aid after hearing screams for help when out for his daily walk.

He said: “I walk in Ravenscraig Park most days. I was just walking along my usual route when I heard shouting and screaming for help – I made my way to where the commotion was and that is when I saw Sylvia who had said that her dog had fallen. She was in considerable distress.

"She needed assistance to get down to Ralph as there are many paths in the park and didn’t know which way to go.

"I helped to guide her down as some of the steps can be quite treacherous, and when they got back up, I pointed them in the right direction to the car park.”

Tom added that Ralph was very subdued as he was in a state of shock.

"By the time Sylvia got down to Ralph he had stopped whimpering and was quiet and stunned with being in shock – it is quite a drop where he fell, it must be 15 to 20 feet.

"After I pointed them to the car park I went on my way and had lunch before settling down for the day – it was quite an exciting morning and very lucky that I was there as the park was very quiet that morning.

"It was a bit of a shock when I read the Press last Thursday morning to find myself mentioned, I had a long think about it and decided that I may as well own up!.”

After being reunited with Tom, Sylvia said she can now rest easy knowing that she could properly thank him for his help on that terrifying day.

She said: “It’s amazing that through the power of social media and the Fife Free Press I was able to find Tom to thank him properly for helping us that day.

"Without him Ralph could have suffered more – it really makes you proud to be a Fifer!

"There should be more people like Tom, I can’t thank him enough – he has shown that there are good people out there with a proper sense of community spirit.”

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