Heroes Save Dog Lover From Water Off Laguna

When Stephen Parkhurst went to work remodeling a cliff house overlooking the Laguna Beach coast Thursday morning, he had no idea he would end the day a hero.

But that’s what happened. Now, a Laguna Beach woman and her dog have their lives to thank for it.

The drama began about 8:20 a.m. as Joan Calkins, 47, walked her small brown dog along a craggy rock outcropping just north of Diver’s Cove.

Police said the dog lost its footing while chasing a bird and fell into the water at Giggle Crack. The accident occurred around the spot of last year’s Mother’s Day drownings of a young woman and her boyfriend, who jumped into the ocean in an attempt to save the woman’s daughter.

Following the same instincts, Calkins immediately jumped into the water in an effort to save her dog. That’s when Parkhurst, working on a window about 100 feet above, heard her faint cries.

“I thought it was kind of strange,” said Parkhurst, a 44-year-old construction worker assigned to the home remodel on Cliff Drive. “So I unscrewed the little window and screamed, ‘Is there anybody down there?’ And a lady said, ‘Yes, I’m down here--please help me!’ ”

Grabbing a nylon rope while his supervisor dialed 911, Parkhurst raced out the front door, down a stairway to the beach and up over the rocks to where the woman was struggling for her life.

“She was just getting slammed by the waves coming in,” Parkhurst said. “My first instinct was to jump in and help her, but I’m glad I didn’t, because then we’d have had another rescue.”

Instead, Parkhurst threw Calkins the end of the rope, which she managed to wrap around a hand. Then, with the aid of his supervisor--Don Dikes of San Clemente--and passerby Brandon Sanders of Corona, Parkhurst pulled the woman about 40 feet out of the crevice to safety.

“She was very bloated and having trouble breathing when she came out,” Parkhurst said, “but the first words out of her mouth were, ‘What about my dog?’ ”

While paramedics worked on Calkins, the three men and several police officers formed a chain to lift the trembling hound from the rock ledge onto which it had scrambled.

Calkins was taken to South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach, where she was reported in stable condition. The dog was said to be fine.

City officials were shaking their heads at the apparent ineffectiveness of a huge warning sign they had erected at the spot in the wake of last year’s tragedy.

“You cannot possibly miss that sign,” City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said. “But it had absolutely no effect whatsoever. It’s very dangerous down there. I think these guys are heroes--they definitely saved [Calkins’] life.”

At least one of those heroes was basking in the glow of the outcome Thursday afternoon.

“It’s an indescribable feeling,” Parkhurst said. “Everything happens for a reason--I’m just grateful that I heard her cries. . . . I’m just glad I was there for her.”