Poor Lily! & Poor Stevie
This post is on my other blog too and I don't normally cross post, but thought this might be a warning to any other dog walkers in this icy weather we are having in the UK at the moment.
This post is on my other blog too and I don't normally cross post, but thought this might be a warning to any other dog walkers in this icy weather we are having in the UK at the moment.
You have probably heard some awful stories this week about people falling into freezing water, mainly ponds and some poor families who have lost both children and pets to hypothermia. We have a sad tale of our own, but luckily with a happy ending.
Yesterday we were walking around a local fishing lake/pond and giving it a wide berth as it is deep in places and although the ice looks thick, there was a thaw going on at the edges. There was also a fair amount of debris around the edges and a dog might not know what is land and what is water. However, that was not our problem. Around one of the edges the path goes over some banks with a small bridge. The banks are not terribly steep however Lily went too near the edge and lost her footing and slipped into the pond with an almight splash and then floundered around trying to stand on the debris or walk on water (she has never been swimming before).
She was in difficulty as the wool lined coat she was wearing was absorbing a lot of water and she wasn't going anywhere near a bank to be able to get out. We were worried she was going to get hypothermia however without any discussion within seconds Steve had gone to help her and just dived into the water regardless for his own safety. What a hero, he did get water right up to his neck and swam Lily to the bank and hoisted her out.
Then there was soggy walk to the car followed by blasts from the heaters and we were home within a short drive. Steve was fine, Lily got away with a few bruises and scratches. Dizzy was a complete anti-hero, he saw the two of them splashing in the freezing water and though, I'm not having any of that and started to sprint backwards pulling me on his lead. He loves a bit of self preservation and wanted to be as far away from cold water as possible!
Here is little Lillipegs snoozing in her blankets, without a care in the World. She would expect nothing less from her Royal subjects and she already assumed her Daddy was a hero.
3 comments:
So scary but at least everyone is ok. I know Leo would jump in and save the girls without a thought. I would too, but I'd probably also end up somehow making the situation worse.
Kisses to the pups.
i still love steve, as i posted on rav.
Years ago a previous dog of mine did something similar. He decided to chase some ducks on a local pond, which was frozen around the edges. He got about 20 feet in and fell in. I was only about 23 at the time and had no clue what to do. Luckily he clambered out on his own and we had to drive straight back home. I've never had a car without at least one blanket and thre towels in it since then. The memory of him shivering and dripping in the boot is still with me. I didn't even have a towel to give him a rub down with. We didn't have far to go to get home, and he didn't suffer any ill effects, but still. Not fun.
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