I do not believe any canine is worth a person’s life.
It’s hard to write that, but it’s what I believe. I would never want anybody to risk his or her life to save my dog.
My husband Josh and I have talked about this before. It’s hard to know what a person will do in an emergency, but I’ve told him several times to never risk his life for our dog. I’ve agreed to the same.
Possible scenarios we’ve discussed include running back into a house fire to save a pet, walking out onto thin ice or swimming out into harmful water.
Of course, some situations are not quite so serious, and all anybody can do in the moment is use his or her best judgement.
Sadly, a young woman died Sunday in Kansas while running out onto thin ice after her dog.
Wichita woman falls through ice while trying to save her dog
The 28-year-old fell through the ice and died Sunday. The story is reported by WIBW of Topeka, Kan. (Image from WIBW.)
The woman’s canine ran out onto a frozen pond when it saw another dog, according to the article. The woman then ran out after her canine and once they were in the middle of the pond, the ice broke and they both fell through.
From WIBW.com:
A see tried to help the woman, but he couldn’t reach her and she went under.
“The ice, we’re far enough south that the ice doesn’t freeze or stay frozen,” said Wichita Water Rescue Firefighter Paul Gonzalez. “It’s very, very thin ice and so the recommendation is always stay off the ice.”
…
A crew of six rescuers went out onto the icy water trying to rescue the woman. Divers found her at the bottom of the eight-foot-deep lake about 30 minutes later. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wichita police Sargent John Ryan said people ought to never count on the ice on a Kansas lake.
What we can learn from this
The above story is so sad, but I hope those of us who love dogs can learn something from it.
Most of my readers like to go on hikes and adventures with their dogs, and you just never know what might happen.
Josh and I go on backpacking trips where our canine spends a lot of time off leash. We’ve also spent a lot of time with Ace around frozen lakes and rivers and lately, going to the ocean.
Thankfully, we haven’t had any really close calls, but there have been a few that made us realize you can never be too careful around cliffs, wildlife, currents and so on. and even a well-trained canine will do extremely dumb things at times.
While you can’t prepare for everything, I hope this story will remind all canine lovers to hesitate before putting themselves in danger for the sake of a dog.
My heart goes out to the friends and family of 28-year-old Erika Owen of Wichita.
Have you had any close calls while out hiking or walking your dog?
