This screenshot taken from a video posted on Facebook on Dec. 29 by Murray Heidt shows a man pulling a woman and dog from the South Saskatchewan River. Firefighters say it's extremely dangerous to try rescue any human or animal who has fallen into a river and say to instead call 911.--SCREENSHOT
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Fire officials are reminding residents to take caution while walking their pets along the South Saskatchewan River after a video was posted on Facebook showing an unknown women falling into the ice while trying to save a dog.
The video starts by showing the woman on her hands and knees on a thin ice chunk as she slowly inches toward a dog in the water several metres away.
Forty-five seconds into the video the woman can be seen on her belly moving slowly across the ice while the dog struggles to stay afloat and keep its head above the water.
Meanwhile, an unknown man is seen trying to assist the woman from the river bank.
One minute and 20 seconds into the video the woman is seen falling into the river after the ice she was laying on breaks.
In the next tense minute of the video the man helps pull the woman and dog to safety.
Fire prevention officer Curtis Sjodin says in this situation they don’t recommend anyone go on to the ice.
“We would want you to phone 911,” says Sjodin. “We have a trained ice rescue and dive team for us to come with proper equipment to rescue animals and people in the river or on any body of water. There is a lot of open water and anytime you have ice along the edges, which isn’t very thick with flowing water, it’s very dangerous.
“So we just urge people to stay off the ice and if somebody or an animal needs to be rescued, phone 911. We are trained how to do it safely.”
On Dec. 28 just after noon Murray Heidt and his friend were walking in Strathcona Park when they heard some commotion across the river.
Heidt pulled out his phone and started recording when he saw a dog in the river and a woman running down toward it.
“It was scary,” Heidt told the News. “She gets on her stomach and she goes out and she gets on her knees and it breaks and she goes in.
“I didn’t think it was a very good idea. But I mean it’s her dog, of course she’s going to try.”
It was at this moment the man can be seen putting himself in danger to help pull the woman and dog out of the river.
Heidt believes the man was a helpful citizen who didn’t have any relation to the woman.
“We think that he had just come down to help,” says Heidt. “It looked like the woman with the dog was walking away by herself. And then the guy was with somebody else with a dog.”
Fire officials suggest residents keep their pets on a leash around the riverbank to avoid preventable incidents.
“The problem with animals if you’re walking near open bodies of water with ice on the side, always have your animals leashed because if they see some type of bird, they’re gonna run out there. And they’re generally lighter than we are. So if they find themselves falling into water and we go to help them, well you’re gonna go into water, too,” says Sjodin.
Heidt says he believes the man, woman and dog are doing OK after the incident.
“I mean they were walking away and they look OK walking.”
However, the News could not verify their condition or identify at the time of publication.
