Canal pet rescue drama after ice fall
A dramatic rescue mission that nearly “cost t wo lives” unfolded after a dog plunged into freezing water through a crack in some ice.
The animal was being walked around Helix Park in Falkirk when it fell into the Forth and Clyde Canal near the Kelpies statues at about 1.30pm yesterday .
Local resident Gordon Clark was out walking in the area when he witnessed the dog fall through the ice.
The situation then escalated, accordingto the passer- by, who claims the rescue mission put the lives of two people at risk.
"It all started with a dog wandering on to ice and then falling through,” he said. "Its owner tried to call it back, but to no avail as it kept struggling to get out.
"A chap standing next to me went for a life ring and a pole to throw across to the owner and othe r people on the other side. When he went to throw it, he stood partly on ice and went under as well.
"He struggled to get out so I jumped the barrier with his partner and we struggled to get him out as he was soaking.
"Luckily we got him out and took off his wet jacket.”
A woman, believed to be the dog's owner, thentriedtorescue the dog by going into the water herself, according to Mr Clark.
"This dog almost cost t wo lives,” he added.
Meanwhile, bargeownerrobert Fettes, 54, who has been livingontheforthandclydecanal for the past three years, started up his engine in an attempt to help break the ice.
“I was woken up by someone going into the water, I had been on a night shift,” Mr Fettes said. "I looked out the window and saw this little Poodle- like dog struggling in the water soi started up my engine with a view to breaking the ice. A woman, the owneribelieve, wasinthewater
and she then managed to pull the dog to safety through the cracks.”
"I t was s u c h a h o r r i b l e moment," he added. "People need to be a lot more careful."
Mr Fettes said the Scottish
Fire and Rescue Service arrived shortly after and provided oxygen for the distressed animal.
A spokeswoman from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 1.35pm onfriday with a reports of a dog
in the water at the Kelpies. Two appliances from Falkirk were mobilised to the scene but the dog was recovered from the water prior to our arrival.”