Man drowns trying to save family dog

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This article was published 24/07/2018 (2945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 58-year-old Winnipeg man drowned in a King’s Park pond Monday night while trying to rescue his family dog.

City police said the man was out walking with other family members at about 9:30 p.m., when the dog went into the water and had difficulty swimming.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Tammy Skrabek said two other men at the park heard a woman calling for help and went in the water in an attempt to help the man.

“He got trapped in some very thick reeds in soft mud underneath the water, which was extremely deep in some parts where you weren’t able to touch the ground,” Skrabek said on Tuesday.

Skrabek said the two bystanders pulled the victim, who was unconscious, out of the water and performed CPR before paramedics arrived. The man was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

One of the bystanders was treated in hospital and released. The other was treated at the scene.

Early Tuesday morning, members of the man’s family returned to the park to search for the dog and found him within minutes.

“The dog was fine,” said Linda Bouchard-Toderan, who’d been searching until 11 p.m. the night before. “He was probably scared from the sirens and ambulances, and hid in the bush for the night.”

Bouchard-Toderan, who had no connection to the family before Monday, said she saw the dog late in the evening but couldn’t catch it. She texted the man’s daughter to let her know it was still in the area.

“She was quite relieved to have her dog back,” Bouchard-Toderan said.

The pond is located near one of the city’s off-leash dog parks. Skrabek said there are warning signs posted, but such ponds can be deceptively dangerous.

“There is that misconception that these retention ponds are shallow… When you’re talking wet, mucky soil, it very much acts like quicksand, and you could get your feet trapped in there and you’re stuck,” she said.

City of Winnipeg spokesman Ken Allen said the pond is a “decorative water feature” which was filled with water at the end of June, following the refurbishment of the waterfall.

“Prior to filling the pond, rooted vegetation was removed through mechanical means and with a controlled burn. Surface floating aquatic weeds are not removed and are a natural part of the pond’s ecosystem,” Allen stated in an email response.

“A small part of the off-leash dog section of the park borders on the pond. There are two signs posted by the pond which state: no wading, no swimming, no power boats, no dumping.”

Kevin Tordiffe of Lifesaving Society Manitoba said people should not go after their pets in areas that are not designated for swimming.

“The potential consequences are too great,” he said.

“You should try some form of a throwing assist, even just the dog’s leash (to bite onto or as a lasso). Don’t go into the water. I know it’s difficult to think of your pet being in distress, but your personal safety needs to be first.”

At the park’s off-leash area Tuesday afternoon, pet owners were continuing to allow their dogs to go into the pond.

“The drownings were very unfortunate,” said Steve Payne, who has been taking his dogs to the park for nearly a decade. “But he clearly cared about his dog, and tried to help out. It’s definitely a difficult one.”

Payne said his Highlands border collie, Satchmo Joe, often runs into the pond to cool off on hot days. His smaller dog, Taz, a bichon-poodle mix, won’t go in. He said he would not want to see the area fenced off.

Kianah Zado, 21, said she will still let her dog, Buffy, swim in the pond, but said more signage should be added to prevent further incidents.

“Dogs can’t read. So there’s always a risk,” she said, noting Buffy often sprints in and out, and usually goes only up to its knees. “If something were to go wrong, I also think I’d be able to save her.

“But, obviously, he thought that, too,” she added, after a moment.

 

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca