Reposting my 2016 thread about dogs and ice!!

[molly]

A REMINDER TO KEEP YOUR DOGS AWAY FROM ICE...

After sharing our sad tail on Facebook just now, I decided I had better remind you folks about this as well. Please share with friends, family, anyone who has a dog.

PLEASE , dog people, leash your dogs when near a frozen waterway or lake. You may think it is a pain, but there is no pain like watching your dog fall though ice and disappear. And you can do nothing. I know. The dog with me in my profile photo drowned on March 8th, 2015. I live with that image every day. I see the tracks of people and their dogs on creeks and rivers from High River to Calgary, and I just feel sad. You may think it will never happen to you, that the ice is thick enough, that your dog will sense danger and get away in time. And maybe nothing will happen, but is it not better to err on the side of caution?

We were going down to check a watering hole we had to keep open for the cows on the ranch where we work, and little Bean got ahead as she liked to do, and by the time we saw her walking out on the ice towards the bank, and saw her hesitate for a fraction of a second, we both sensed something bad was about to happen and she disappeared. It happened so fast. In the deepest part of the creek, where the ice was starting to rot near the bank, we saw her carried under the thick ice. Foolishly, we ran out onto that same ice, with sticks, screaming and pounding on the ice trying to see if she was hung up underneath in an air pocket, but the water was right next to the ice, and after I fell though near the bank where I grabbed onto a root, I told my husband, we had to stop risking our own lives. She was gone. The pain was almost unbearable. I can see it as though it happened an hour ago, and still cry. Any dog that will someday become a part of our little pack will NEVER be allowed to roam free next to a frozen creek, river or lake. NEVER.

PLEASE leash your dogs to keep them safe. If this post saves the life of just one dog, it is enough.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Every time I see your posts Molly, I look at your dog and remember your horrible tragedy. It breaks my heart, as our dog looks similar and I never thought of that danger until your story. Now we don't allow her on the ice at all.

[Zip]

Molly I am very sad for you and your family, I know your pain as a few years back one of our beloved dogs fell through the ice covering our dug out, we had to wait till spring to try find her, as we tried and tried..my wife even tried getting me to tie a rope to her so she could out on the ice...wasn't worth losing my wife that way! The wait was about 2 months...thought about her everyday.
My wife and I went as soon as it was safe to do so and yes just like you that sight once we retrieved her is etched forever in our minds..we had a cremation done and she still sits in a box in our living room..neither one of us has what it takes to actually bury her ., so she stays right there with us..
Molly I am so sorry for such a long post that was intended to just say Thank you for the reminder for all of us to be careful and mindful of our 4 legged family members when ice is near...no matter the time of year !
Molly Take care
Zip

[coastalhunter]

Happened to my puppy as a child, except it ingested ice before it was pulled out and died of internal bleeding rather than drowning.

[Jjolg123]

Awful to hear Molly, hits home because our pup looks alike as well as having our neighbors lose a dog on the sheep river a few years back.

[molly]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.
Do you know, I had to have a weepy "chat" with the Hublet not long ago after we came back from chopping water holes again, and he insisted on crossing the ice in an area I felt was potentially dicey. It is not just dogs who can drown! I explained that after what happened to the Bean, how could we still not try to be very careful, always? He finally agreed that he would be careful from now on...and agreed with my "no dogs on the ice never-ever" policy.

We did find her body, about a month and a half later, almost 1/4 mile downstream. We had dreaded this, but there she was, looking like she was sleeping on the bank. Bless him, but the Hublet took off her pink collar and I washed it and washed it till it was almost like new. It is hanging in our house.

[Sooner]

Almost a year later, I remember that thread. Always wondered if you got her back, didn't want to ask. Glad you did. My 3 Gsp collars are hanging below their pictures on a wall. Always remembered, never forgotten. A acquaintance had two dogs go in the N Sask river while walking them in the spring, this was years ago. He ran out and got one, watched the bigger one go under the ice. No chance. Then he realized he could have died trying to save the one dog.

Things happen fast and you just react. Good reminder Molly. Have you found a dog to fill the void yet?

[KGB]

Can't read this without tears in my eyes....

[ForwardBias]

Sorry for your loss.

[molly]

Originally Posted by Sooner

Things happen fast and you just react. Good reminder Molly. Have you found a dog to fill the void yet?

No. We tried several but the guy we work for has so many rules...we had adopted one, but he made us return him after an incident with his sister's dog. I posted a thread about our woes awhile back!! We were heartbroken and told him we will not get another dog, as long as we live here. So now I am really focusing on finding a new gig so we can get a new dog!!

Originally Posted by KGB

Can't read this without tears in my eyes....

Gosh, try typing that when you cannot see the keys!! Thank you all so much. And like I said, a reminder like this will hopefully save a dog or two.

[Heyupduck]

very sorry for your loss.

[Selkirk]

I still remember like it was yesterday, when I went out help you folks find Beaner. Try as we might, I was so choked up when we failed. We knew she was there somewhere, but failed to finder her that day.

Glad you and Jim eventually found her.

Mac

[HunterDave]

Very sad, so sorry for your loss particularly given the circumstances. I know the felling of your helplessness at the time. I had a Brittany spaniel that went through the ice on a pond.....I couldn't stop him from going on the ice. He went through and if it didn't hold him it wasn't going to hold me. Being totally helpless in a situation like that is a sickening feeling. Thankfully there was no current and he made it out. No matter how close you are to a dog there is only so much that you can do and taking chances with your own life is probably not the right thing to do. I hope that people can learn from your experience and you eventually heal in time.

[Lornce]

Sorry for your loss, I just wanted to add 2 incidents that I witnessed. One was while ice fishing on Spray. The ice was windswept and slick, I needed my ice spikes to walk, Couple of guys with a Lab decided to set up 30 yards from me. Teh dog was having trouble with traction and kept slipping. He tried to frolick around the owner who was drilling a hole. Dog finally slipped and you could hear his hip break. We used my sled to get the dog back to his vehicle. Very sad situation.

The other one was out in BC on Mission creek. I was fishing a corner pool where the stream swept into a bunch of deadfalls at the end of a pool. This guy with a spaniel mixed cross came up with a ball thrower and tosses it into the pool in front of where I was fishing. The dog dived in after it and he was swept into the deadfalls and held under by the current, only a foot down, I could seem him in the clear water. Both terrible incidents and they still haunt me.

Remember your dogs trust you and a bit of thinking can save them.

[molly]

Lornce, those are both very sad stories but they serve to remind us of the dangers everywhere. How many of ice have seen dogs having trouble when ice fishing? And to throw a ball into a fast moving stream is unbelievable! We are our dogs' protectors, as they will do anything for us, never knowing the danger.
Thanks for posting those.

As for you, Mac, your help that day will always be remembered.

[creeky]

good reminder Molly and i'm sorry you had to go through this.

one time out horseshoeing my clients came screaming from out back of the barn that my griffon had crashed through dugout ice. luckily i was able to rope her out before she went down for the last time.

another time a guys dog came across an open backwater to me, owner called his dog back and it went upstream and tried to cross over a 6ft hole. it crashed through 4 times so i went in almost to my chest and threw it on the bank-his black lab went immediately completely white (-30).

i phoned my son to run me a hot bath (1/2 k away), the owner just stood there saying he couldn't believe i jumped in (told him he wasn't doing anything) and i had to scream at him to shut up and get his dog home and warm asap..


your right about the pain Molly, it's something i will ever forget.


on a footnote, the guy tracked me down and gifted me a fine bottle of scotch and offered a professional portrait package (dog/people photographer)of my own dog. i told him he's not getting nowhere near my pup!


Creeky….

[molly]

Rather than post a new thread, I am bumping this one from last year. That way everyone can read the other posts from fellow AO dog peeps. The anniversary date of Losing the Bean is not till March 8th, but with stories in the news about kids and dogs falling through ice, I thought to remind everyone now.

And no, we have not found a dog yet. We had a couple almosts, but there was always some thing that we feared would annoy our employer, but I still keep an eye out! Just sucks being dogless.

In the meantime, every one of you with dogs, heed the warnings of this thread. It is amazing how the image of tragedy never leaves once witnessed; you do not want images like this to haunt you. Your dog trusts you. Please stay safe!!

[Sooner]

Good reminder Molly, with the temp swings we see lately, the ice can be weak much earlier this year. Especially if it's moving underneath.

[does it ALL outdoors]

Absolutely terrible, can't even imagine that pain. Sorry to hear, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

I still remember like it was yesterday, when I went out help you folks find Beaner. Try as we might, I was so choked up when we failed. We knew she was there somewhere, but failed to finder her that day.

Glad you and Jim eventually found her.

Mac

And I still remember

Mac

[molly]

I hope no one out there thinks I am sounding like a broken record, but I feel it is important to remind everyone out there, with spring on the horizon and ice conditions changing, to be vigilant and take precautions when near or on ice with your dogs. It is tough for me to relive this, but several of you have endured similar tragedies, and I am sure you all would agree that if this serves to save even just one dog from a similar fate, that is enough.

Please stay safe out there, fellow dog people!

[Fish along]

This Is a great post,sorry for your loss.Im sure lots of people don't have a clue of the dangers, as was said above sometimes you have to be proactive in areas like these.

This post could possibly be a sticky.(AWARENESS).

[2 Tollers]

Good reminder. Thanks Molly.

Last spring I had my new pup go through twice -- once on the way out chasing geese. He pulled himself up onto the ice but would not come back to me. Went a different route back and went through again and this time under the ice. Fortunately it was not flowing water and close to shore so I was able to get to him. This was my mistake not having a young dog, that was not recall trained, on a lead.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

I still remember like it was yesterday, when I went out help you folks find Beaner. Try as we might, I was so choked up when we failed. We knew she was there somewhere, but failed to finder her that day.

Glad you and Jim eventually found her.

Originally Posted by Selkirk

And I still remember

And still do

Selkirk