An Inspiring Dog Walk In A New Year

Dog Lady and her great friend, Susanne, took our dogs for a walk in the woods on a January day when the temperature on the East Coast reached far into the 60s. The dogs, of course, were delighted to have this adventure. So was Dog Lady who was wearing her new Yaktrax, which meant she could walk with ease on paths encrusted with melting ice. (Read about Yaktrax in the "See Spot).

We wended far into the woods by a river when, suddenly, we came upon a scene of chaos. A dog flailed in the water while its owner stood helpless on the riverbank. The dog, Mya, was stuck clinging to an ice floe and was trapped. The dog yelped for help. The cries were heart-rending. The owner’s fear was palpable. We didn’t know what to do. The owner had called 911 but aid seemed very far away. We all were frozen in place – even the dogs on the shore – while Mya’s cries pierced the balmy quiet.

As a crisis unfolds, people tend to be true to their inner colors. There are the paralyzed watchers, the hysterical screamers and the determined doers. Dog Lady, unfortunately, is a screamer. Her friend is a doer.

Susanne sprang into action. She made her way down to the river bank and crawled out onto a large limb that extended into the water. She called for Mya. Remarkably, the sinking animal, perhaps motivated by our calls of encouragement, paddled around to the limb. Susanne grabbed the hair on the dog’s head and the scruff of its neck. She hauled Mya, a doodle puppy (Lab or golden), up onto the limb and then onto dry land. The dog came out of the water shivering. We took off our coats and put them around Mya. The owner, ashen, thanked Susanne profusely. Susanne carried Mya for a bit until the dog stopped shaking and walked on her own. Everybody went away a little happier and wiser.

What Dog Lady learned: If your dog has natural "to the water" instincts, keep it on the leash when walking near a frozen body of water. There are always cracks in the ice. If it somehow eludes the leash and heads to the water, immediately coax it back to shore and put on a leash. If your dog falls through, do not go in the water. You could drown. Instead, call for help -- or hope there’s a good Samaritan Susanne willing to crawl out on a long tree limb.

Posted by Dog Lady at January 9, 2008 09:34 AM