Good Samaritan rescues dog from icy Trout Lake
A local pooch is lucky to be alive after falling through the ice at Vancouver’s Trout Lake and being saved from drowning by a Good Samaritan.
Several other dog walkers witnessed the dramatic rescue, which occurred Friday around 11:30 a.m. Environmental activist Ben West, who was at the park with his own dog and his partner, captured photos and video footage of the incident.
“We saw this dog out on the ice,” said West. “It had just been playing with our dog before. I was a little concerned, but just kinda hoping it would walk across to the other side.”
“Next thing you know, I looked over and this dog all of a sudden went through the ice.”
The dog, whose name is Tessa, struggled to climb up out of the water, breaking more ice each time, West said. And that’s when a woman decided to wade waistdeep into the icy water to save it from drowning and help it back to shore.
“There was a woman there who had three dogs of her own who had just shown up at the park. She didn’t seem to know anybody else there,” West said.
“All of a sudden this woman just starts going out into the water to try to help this dog that was clearly in distress.”
Others did what they could to assist from the shore, joining with Tessa’s owner in calling out the dog ’s name, urging her to keep her head above the partly frozen water and keep swimming.
According to West, Tessa was in the lake for at least five minutes before the woman, whose name is unknown, successfully led her to solid ground. There, both were wrapped in blankets and towels.
The woman was invited to a nearby house to warm up in a bath. Two of her dogs followed, but the third remained in the park. She asked other witnesses to bring it to her, which proved difficult.
“We spent a good 15 minutes chasing her dog trying to get it on a leash,” said West.
Paramedics arrived a short time later, heading into the house to check on the well-being of the Good Samaritan.
As for Tessa, West said it appeared to be in good spirits, and was already back to playing with other dogs by the time he left the park. West expressed some unease about pointing a camera at the incident, “but when it was clearly working out, I got the last bit of it on tape and then just kinda waited around to make sure that everybody was OK.”
In an Instagram post, West called the rescue “the most amazing thing I have ever seen with my own eyes.”